I Shouldn't Love You
by jumpthenfall23
Summary: Eight years ago he left her to pursue his dreams. After their falling out, they didn't speak or see each other. But when he returns, will old ways come back to haunt them? JamesXOC.
1. Memories

**Hey guys :) as you can see, this is a new story, and I'm really excited about it. It's a future fic, about eight years later, so our BTR boys are all grown up.**

** But I'll tell you this now- I'm about to get unbelievably busy, so I can't promise an update of this every week. One Night is my priority to update, and with this new schedule thing, I may not even be getting updates of that. So, I just wanted to tell you guys that now and apologize in advance.**

** Oh, and an update of One Night is coming shortly. So don't fret! **

** But! It would be super awesome if you could review this first chapter, and put me on your alerts or favorite list. It means a lot to me, and when you review, I can see what you guys like about the chapter.**

** Also, if you're reading this but haven't read One Night, it's also a JamesxOC, so you should definitely go read it if you're not already reading it.**

_His tanned fingers grazed over the pale skin of her arms as they lay facing each other under the blankets on his bed inside his large bedroom, inside his even larger house. His parents weren't home, and they took advantage of that time. _

_ One year today since they started dating._

_ And she couldn't think of a better present than the love he had just given her. They'd gone all the way, finally taking that one step after waiting for what seemed like forever._

_ Neither of them expected it from the other today, but they both wanted it. They'd wanted it for four months or so, but not once had it felt right. Not once had it felt perfect. _

_ Until tonight._

_ His fingers slowly went down her arm, and she looked at him as he kept his eyes focused on her skin, a small smile on his face. She couldn't believe that he would take in the small things on her body. And he couldn't believe how absolutely perfect her body was._

_ She shivered as his fingers passed over her wrist, covering her body in goosebumps. _

_ "Are you cold?" he asked softly, looking up at her. Before she could answer, he wrapped his arms around her bare body and pulled her closer to him underneath the thick white sheets and blankets._

_ She smiled into the tanned skin of his chest, pressing a small kiss to his shoulder. It was crazy how in love they were, and they were only seventeen. But age didn't matter, not to them._

_ He looked down at her and grinned, running his fingers through her dark brown hair._

_ "I love you, Brylee," he said seriously, his voice filled with sincerity._

_ "I love you too, James," she said in the same tone, and she knew she'd never lose him._

Brylee Anderson woke up, and she could feel the small smile on her face, but it immediately disappeared. That relationship was no longer. She was still a baby then, or is that what she is now?

She threw her arms over her eyes, and sighed shortly. She could literally feel his hands on her still, and she cringed. She threw off the blankets, then walked across the room to the sliding glass door.

The winter air was cold, and she could see her breath, but right now, this is what she needed. She needed to forget about what had just went on in her head.

That was eight years ago.

He probably doesn't even remember you, Brylee thought as she walked across the balcony to the railing.

Everything was so quiet, and she placed her hands on the cold metal in front of her, only to be brought back to more memories of her teen years.

_It was their prom. Everything went great. And now it was the after party, and unlike ninety-nine percent of their class, James and Brylee didn't need the sex. They were content with just getting a room, changing out of this formal wear, and watching a movie._

_ It was around one am, and James was changing, and Brylee had wandered out onto the balcony. Even though it was April, it was still cold in Minnesota. Not nearly as cold as the winter, but only about fifty degrees; so you could still see your breath and be chilled from the air after about three minutes._

_ Brylee placed her hands on the wrought iron railing, and gazed down at the city in front of her. She came down here with James all the time since there was so much more to do, but she had never seen it from above._

_ Even though it was one am, like any other city, it was still busy. Well, kind of. Nothing like a real big city, but much busier than the small town Brylee and James lived in._

_ "Babe, what are you doing out here?" James said, finding his girlfriend standing outside in a thin pair of faded pink sweatpants and his hockey sweatshirt, looking down at the city below. _

_ "Nothing," Brylee said, turning her head to look at her guy walking over to her. "Just observing."_

_ James came and stood next to her, then placed his hand on top of hers, smiling when she intertwined her fingers through his._

_ "Come on, let's get inside, it's chilly out here," he said. Brylee smiled and pecked his cheek quickly and took one last look at the city before her before going back inside to enjoy an early morning movie with her boyfriend._

Brylee just wished that would happen now. She wished her boyfriend would come outside and be sweet and tell her to come back in. But her boyfriend didn't do that. Hell, he was hardly around.

It's exactly what you think.

She's dating a jerk. She wasn't afraid to admit it. But she _was _afraid to admit something else.

Brylee had met her boyfriend, Jake Walker, in high school. He played on the hockey team with James, and Jake always had a thing for Brylee, but he didn't get her. That James, who was just so…pretty, got her first.

Thankfully, though, he dumped her for a job out in California and Brylee came running to Jake, but they didn't start dating for a year.

Which was okay with him. As long as he was the only one who got to spend time with her, then he was okay.

When they did start dating, everything started fine. They went on movie dates on Friday's, and out to dinner on Saturday's. But Brylee didn't catch on to what Jake was doing for a while.

She noticed though, right before graduation, when they were picking colleges. She spent more time with her friends, since she knew she wouldn't be seeing them much during college.

And this got Jake furious. He'd yell at her, and ask her if she was purposely trying to ruin their relationship.

And she realized he was practically obsessed with her.

And it terrified her.

And that's exactly why she couldn't leave him. For the fear he'd hurt her physically. He hadn't done it before, but sometimes it had gotten extremely close to that. He hurt her verbally, and emotionally, all the time.

But by now, she didn't even listen to the things he said. They were so horrible. All she had to do was say she understood what he said, and he'd be fine.

But the up side was he was a business man. Which meant he was gone a lot. We're talking two weeks at a time, maybe back for two days, then off for another two weeks.

And the odd thing was, even though he had this obsession with her, when he was gone, he never contacted her. Not by any means.

And Brylee liked it that way.

Yet, she was still trying to come up with a way to end this relationship. She didn't want to leave Minnesota, though. She had a job here that she loved, teaching tenth grade English, and she loved this area.

It was so beautiful, yet haunting.

Just like these memories.

**So, I know this is kinda short, but it was just an introduction. I'll try to make my updates as long as possible since I probably won't be getting them up too often.**

** Reviews? Pwease?**


	2. Back to Minnesota

**Go read my other story, One Night, if you haven't already! And PLEASE review on this story! It would mean the world to me!**

_"James, stop!" she giggled as he lifted her up, walking towards the pool. "James, don't do it!" _

_ "What are you going to do to stop me?" he asked, nearing the edge of the pool._

_ They were in North Carolina (yes, they took that drive from Minnesota) at the beach with James' family, and of course they invited Brylee to come along. She was practically a part of the family now that she and James were dating for a year and a half._

_ "This," she said, her arms wrapped around his neck. She leaned in closer and kissed him the way she knew he'd give in. After another moment, she pulled away with a smirk._

_ "Wow," James breathed, almost going weak in the knees, but if he did that, he and the girl in his arms would go down. _

_ "I know, right?"_

_ "Yes," he said, then tossed her in the pool before she even had time to react._

_ Brylee emerged from the water a moment later, a glare on her face. She couldn't believe that didn't work! James bit back his smile as she came over to the edge. She pulled herself out, then stood in front of her boyfriend, arms crossed over her chest._

_ "I hate you," she said seriously._

_ "I love you too," he retorted. Brylee rolled her eyes playfully, then walked past him and headed down the sidewalk toward the door. Once she reached it, she turned around with a smirk, eyeing James, who was still at the edge of the pool._

_ "I might need a little help getting these clothes off," she told him seductively, then smiled. The brown haired boy swallowed hard, then walked toward his girlfriend._

_ Best decision ever, he thought. _

James Diamond was jerked out of his peaceful sleep, and even better dream, by his phone ringing. Groaning, he rolled over and grabbed his phone off his bedside table, just wanting it to shut the hell up.

He noticed that it was Logan calling.

Big Time Rush had ended about two years ago, and even though the guys all went their separate ways, they still kept in touch. After they guys had decided to go their separate ways, Kendall went off to Canada to pursue his hockey dream, Carlos headed off to Texas to do border control, and Logan went back to Minnesota to become a doctor and work at St. Luke's Hospital. As for James, he stayed in LA and picked up acting jobs.

"What the hell do you want Logan?" James sighed, his head half in his pillow.

He found it odd that Logan was calling so early, since they were one hour behind. It was barely six am here, which meant it was still in the four am hour out there.

"J-James," Logan Mitchell stuttered out. "It's your dad."

James' eyes shot open, and he literally hopped out of bed. Even though he was a successful guy, he _never _forgot about his dad. John Diamond was one of the few people that supported every single one of James' decisions, no matter how stupid. They had a special bond that neither James nor John shared with anyone else.

"What about him?" James asked, his palms sweating. His heart felt like it was just stagnant in his chest, and he was this close to being in hysterics.

"H-He had a massive stroke, James," Logan finally whispered. "I was on call and he came in an-and-"

"I'll be there in two hours. Do my mom and Ashley and Jeremy know?"

"I'm calling them next, I promise."

James stood up, then went to his closet and pulled out a suitcase, then threw clothes into it, not even bothering to look at it.

"Thank you, Logan," he said, somewhat calmly.

"No problem."

"Oh, and Logie?"

Logan smiled despite himself, like he always did when his friends used that stupid nickname they gave him in second grade.

"Yeah?" the older man said.

"Please take care of him," James said seriously.

"I will."

"See you later," the brown haired man said.

"See you." Logan hung up the phone, and James listened to the tone before hanging his up too.

He finished getting his clothes into his suitcase, then he threw everything else into it. After zippering it up, he left it on the floor before getting dressed in jeans, a black t-shirt and gray and blue jacket.

He didn't have to worry about getting a flight, because all he had to do was show up at LAX, then give them his name and they'd have a private jet fly him wherever he needed.

James left his bed un-made, knowing the maid would be around at some point today, then grabbed his sunglasses and headed off to the airport.

To put it simply, it was fucking _cold _in Minnesota. It was about seven thirty, the sun just starting to come up, and James could tell snow threatened to come from those clouds.

It was early December, and even though there was already a foot and a half of snow on the ground, that wasn't going to keep new snow from falling.

He remembered when it was early December the last time he was here. That's right; he hadn't actually come back after he left for California, except just that one time for a day when Griffin "fired," them.

_Her birthday was December 12. This was a full six months or so before he left for LA, so he was still doing Choir and _trying _to get himself out to California. Brylee and James were lying on the couch in her living room, the warmth from the fire place across the room radiating heat all around._

_ Her parents were working late and wouldn't be home until around ten. Great birthday present, right? But Brylee didn't care. Her parents were hardly ever around anyway. She'd gotten used to birthdays and other holidays without them. That's what she had friends for._

_ And now that she was with James, she spent them all with him. His parents were always offering for her to come along on family outings, and she __**never **__felt left out. It was like she belonged with them._

_ "Happy birthday gorgeous," James whispered in his girlfriend's ear as she lay atop him on the couch. Brylee smiled into his t-shirt clad chest, then glanced up at him._

_ "Thanks," she said. He smiled, then leaned forward and kissed her gently. After they pulled away from each other, they just stared at the other with the most intense gaze. James pulled her up by her waist closer to him, his fingers sneaking under her sweater._

_ "I love you," he mumbled against his girlfriend's lips._

James pushed the memory from his mind, even though her birthday _was _next week, and got a taxi to take him to his parents' house first to drop his things off, then to St. Luke's Hospital.

"Thanks," he said quickly to the Middle Eastern driver, shoving him a few bills. He got out, pulling his jacket closer to him as he practically ran into the hospital.

He knew Logan would be in the ICU, and that's where he went, up to the third floor. He wasn't a fan of hospitals because of their sterility and the sick and dying, but he could deal with it.

"I'm looking for Dr. Logan Mitchell," James said once he got to the ICU nurses' station.

"I'm sorry he's with a patient. Is there something you need?" a young nurse asked.

"Yeah, I need to see him damn it!" the older man said.

"Okay, just calm down and I'll call for-"

"I don't want to calm down!" the brunette said loudly, getting a few dirty looks from the people in the waiting room, all with red, puffy eyes.

"How about you take a-"

"Audrey, it's okay, he's a friend," Logan said as he approached James at the nurses' station. His hair was slightly disheveled, his cheeks burning red, the way he got when his impatience started to show.

He hadn't seen James in over six months, but his looks and wardrobe never changed. And neither did his temper.

Which was exactly why Logan loved him.

And no, not like that. Get your mind out of the gutter.

He loved him like a brother because that's basically what he was.

"Come on James," Logan said, his hand on the taller boys shoulder. They walked down the hallway, then down another corridor until Logan stopped. James looked at his dad through the window, and broke down right there.

Logan didn't hesitate at all, wrapping his arms around James and letting the pretty boy cry into his shoulder.

"I-is he going to be okay?" James muttered through tears.

"It's hard to say this early. We'll have a better chance of predicting his future tomorrow."

"Where are my mom and Ashley and Jeremy?"

James pulled away, looking at his best friend with a serious face.

"They already saw him. I think they went to get breakfast or something."

James nodded, then plopped down in a chair a few feet down. He was so fucking jet lagged, and he was hungry, and now he was crying.

Could this day get any worse?


	3. Realizations

**I know I should be updating One Night, but I just want to get this story moving a little, and I'm kind of having writer's block for One Night. But, I'm working on it, so don't worry!**

_They did what all teens did when their parents weren't home. They were lying there together, in her bed, and he kicked the blankets off, down to their feet, so he could admire the beautiful body lying next to him. Now she lay beneath him as he lay on her body gently._

_ Her brown curls were sprawled over her shoulders, and she wore his shirt, an old baby blue one that hung perfectly on her frame, hugging her waist. They had made love about half an hour ago, and it was getting late now. It was almost midnight, and he was sure his parents expected him home soon._

_ "I should probably go," he said, his lips on her neck. He couldn't get enough of the pale skin. _

_ "Or you could just stay here," she said, her eyes closed as she enjoyed his lips on her neck. _

_ Her parents were on some trip for the weekend, and of course she utilized the time to have a little fun with her boyfriend. Her parents probably wouldn't even suspect anything. They weren't around a lot, but when they were, they knew she was a good kid and wouldn't do anything horrible._

_ James hovered about Brylee now, a look on his face. His hands were on either side of her shoulders, and she ran her hands up his bare, muscled arms._

_ "And what about my parents?" he asked, almost testing her. She pecked his lips._

_ "Tell them you stayed at Logan's," she whispered, her eyes closed, as she could feel his breath on her lips. James smirked, then kissed her again._

_ "You're so damn smart," he mumbled against his girlfriend's lips, making her giggle._

James could still hear that giggle if he closed his eyes. She was in this room an unreasonable amount of time, and for a lot of it, giggling at James as he commented on something as he kissed her.

Hell, she had been on this very bed. He figured his parents hadn't changed the mattress, and despite the fact that the sheets and comforter had been washed, they were still the same.

He could remember the way she'd cuddle up in his arms, her quiet breathing as she slept.

He remembered the way she'd roll her eyes at him if he took too long to undo a button.

He could still feel her hands on him, so gentle and loving.

He could remember the way she'd turn to putty in his hands as he got her to relax.

And the way her skin felt.

And the way she'd moan when he found her favorite spot on her neck.

James felt something. Something down below.

"Damn it!" he hissed quietly.

He shouldn't be getting hard. Not right now, not while he's in Minnesota on this kind of trip. His dad was in the hospital, for god's sake! And all James could do was think about this girl…

The one he once loved so much it worried him to lose her.

Then he did.

He cut her loose.

He threw the blankets off, then crossed the room to his own bathroom. He shut and locked the door behind him, then turned on the water. James ripped his clothes off before stepping into the shower, beyond ready to release this tension.

"What the fuck were you doing out so late?" Jake screamed as soon as Brylee walked through the front door.

She didn't even know he was coming back tonight. She figured it was tomorrow afternoon or something. And she'd already made him upset and she hadn't said any words to him.

Brylee took in a deep breath, shutting the front door calmly behind her before taking off her coat and shoes. She walked toward the kitchen, where the voice came from.

"I was out with a friend," she said, staring at him.

He was on the opposite side of the island, by the refrigerator, nothing about him different. His hair was still the same from last time she saw him, short and brown. He wore khakis and a button down, a tie over it. It was loosened now, and as he looked up at her, waiting for another answer, the nervous woman could see the anger in his eyes.

"Was it a girl?" he asked loudly.

"Yes!" she said. "So you have nothing to worry about."

Brylee wanted nothing else than to get out of here. Not this room, this house, the county, or even the state.

She wanted to get out of this relationship.

But she just didn't know how to do it.

"Good. Don't go fucking around with anyone else," Jake spat, then brushed past her.

She rolled her eyes and muttered "Like I'm getting anything from you."

"Oh, and just so you know," he said, poking his head back in the kitchen. "I'm only back until tomorrow morning. Then I'm going on a trip for two weeks."

He was so bi-polar. Brylee knew there wasn't something connected right in his head. And she tried to get him to go see someone about it, but it really never worked. He always found out her "plan," then he left some sort of emotional scar from all the yelling.

Brylee let out a sigh of relief, though. She just had to deal with him until tomorrow morning, then she had two weeks to try and figure this all out.

She went over to the living room, then lay down on the couch, throwing a big, warm blanket over her body before closing her eyes.

_"James?" Brylee called after closing the door behind her. James had called her and told her to come over because he had something for her. But it seemed as though no one was here. The lights were off, and James' car wasn't in the driveway._

_ She walked down the hallway, and when she walked into his kitchen, she smiled, her mouth agape._

_ "What is this?" she asked, taking off her pea coat. In living room, there were candles of all different sizes, and it smelled like vanilla._

_ "This is just part of your Valentine's Day present," James said, sliding his arms around her thin waist._

_ "Part?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. James nodded, then took her hand and led her over to the couch in the living room._

_ He sat down, and she sat down beside him, immediately eyeing the cupcakes sitting on the coffee table._

_ "Red velvet with buttercream," James said before she asked, leaning forward to pick one up. He knew they were his girlfriend's favorite, and he was going to take advantage of the tasty treat. He peeled the paper off, then held it out for the girl next to him._

_ Brylee bit her smile back, then took a bite of it._

_ "Mm, this is so good," she said around a mouthful of cakey goodness. James took a bite, too, then let her finish it before he pushed her down gently onto the couch. She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck._

_ He grinned at her, his lips moving toward hers, but she pressed a finger to the pink lips._

_ "Where's everyone else?" she asked, curious._

_ "The parents took Ashley and Jeremy on a weekend ski trip," he said._

_ "They did not," she said incredulously, but James nodded._

_ "Really. And they wanted to have some sort of bonding time, so they didn't take me."_

_ "Wow," was all that came from his girlfriend's mouth._

_ "This just means we can utilize…" he trailed off, kissing her lips gently, his hand traveling underneath her shirt. "Our time together."_

_ Brylee smiled, then leaned up and kissed him again, glad she could spend a little bit of quiet time with James._

Brylee awoke, and she started sobbing. She sobbed because she was lonely. Because she was afraid. But most of all, because she was unloved.


	4. Changes

**I wrote the next chapter of One Night, but as I read over it, I was really hating it, so I'm starting over! I'm hoping to have it up by Saturday? **

** Reviewwwww!**

_"James," she said, her voice shaking with nervousness. Her chest was heaving up and down, and all she was trying to do was calm her nerves. She was lying on his bed, still fully clothed, but she was fucking nervous._

_ Brylee and James had been dating for one year today. And she wanted to do this, she really did, but she never had before. And neither had James. And Brylee was wondering why he was so calm._

_ "Babe, what's wrong?" James asked, leaning above her on his hands._

_ "I-I don't know about this," she admitted, toying with the buttons on her shirt._

_ "We don't have to do this, Bry," he told her._

_ "No, no," she said quickly. "I want to do this, I really do. I'm just…nervous." James sighed, seeming content, a small smile on his face, then he leaned down and kissed her tenderly. _

_ "I am too," he said, looking in her eyes._

_ "Yo-you are?" He nodded, brushing stray hair out of her face._

_ "But I promise we'll take it slow and I'll be gentle," he said softly. Brylee nodded, taking this into consideration. _

_ James leaned up, then kissed her head, by her ear, and then he whispered "I just want to make you feel good."_

_ He didn't say it suggestively, like would be assumed. He said it sincerely, like everything else that had come out of his mouth. Brylee smiled, then kissed him gently, her fingers tangling in his hair._

"James?"

The brown-haired man looked up to see his sister walking toward him. He was sitting at the island in his parent's house, and his sister Ashley must have just gotten here. She lived a few minutes away with her husband of only a few months. She was a good deal shorter than James, just a little petite twenty two year old. But don't let that fool you. She was fierce.

Jeremy was Ashley's twin. He still lived in Minnesota too, more specifically upstairs in his bedroom, as he finished college. He was just saving up money to buy an apartment after getting a job. He and Ashley didn't look much alike, obviously, but you could tell they were siblings.

They would probably be in Minnesota the rest of their lives, unlike James, who had already been around the world, and he was only twenty four.

He had everything he could need…except that one thing.

That one thing his sister had. A man shouldn't be jealous of his younger sister. But it was pretty damn clear James was.

"Hey, Ash," James said. He stood up, then walked over to the girl in the doorway and hugged her. He saw her yesterday, but only for a few hours.

She was a pre-school teacher, so she was busy from eight am to four pm.

"How are you?" she asked, pulling off her long white pea coat. Her skin was still impeccably tan, like always, and she still had her straight, long brown hair. She was wearing a gray skirt with black tights, and a pink sweater.

"I'm okay," he said, sitting back down at the island where a plate sat, some toast and fruit salad on it. He took a bite of the buttered, now cold, toast. "How are you?"

Ashley shrugged. "I could be better."

James gave her a look, swallowing the mouthful of bread. His sister looked over, and sighed.

"It's just- I found out something," she said.

"What was it?" the taller one asked.

"Promise you won't tell mom?"

This could be going either way. James and Ashley had always been close, much closer than James and Jeremy, hell, they hardly talked. James nodded, a serious look now in his eyes.

"I'm pregnant," she said. James' mouth hung open. He couldn't believe it. His baby sister- pregnant?

"What!" the man said loudly, not believing it.

"Shh!" she said, smacking his toned arm. "I found out last night."

"Last night?" James asked.

What the fuck was going on? This was so messed up! Everything was changing, and fast. His dad was dying, he was having sexual dreams about his first love, who may or may not still live here, and now his sister was pregnant and she found out _**last night**__?_

Something just didn't seem to add up in James' head. This just wasn't right…or was it?

Ashley nodded and sighed.

"Does Chris know?" James asked carefully.

"Of course! He was with me." Her older brother nodded, taking it all in.

"So…I'm going to be an uncle?"

Brylee woke up again to silence.

Dead silence.

Eerie silence.

Something wasn't right…or was it?

After she woke up at around midnight from that dream, or memory, she cried for hours on end. She had to change herself right now. She didn't want to be miserable any longer.

She rose from the couch, not bothering to fold up the blanket, then walked to the kitchen. Outside there was fresh snow on the ground, only a few inches, thank the lord.

Today was also Sunday. Brylee was going to see her friend at the hospital today.

One of her dearest and closest friends, Lucy, had some horrible stomach flu that kept her hospitalized for the past few weeks. Brylee wasn't even sure if it was some type of flu. All she knew it was something that had to do with the stomach and that two more days without coming to the hospital, and Lucy would've died.

Brylee had visited every Sunday for the past month or so, even taking surprise trips there during the week if she had a spare minute. She headed up the stairs, then took a shower before sliding on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved, teal sweater.

She always loved visiting the hospital, and talking to all the patients walking around in the hallways and in the other rooms. She didn't know why it brought her so much joy. Maybe it was because it brought whoever she was talking to joy.

Their faces lit up when she smiled and said hello, asking them how they were doing. Most people ignored them, she told herself over and over. Brylee hated that. Maybe it was her teaching instincts coming out.

She was the most accepting person you could meet, and she made friends with everyone. It was just her personality.

And it was nice being happy while she was there, or while she was at school, teaching kids. It was better than her home life.

But she was hoping that would soon change.


	5. I Lied

**For those of you who have reviewed, favorite and alerted, you're beyond awesome! And I know there are more of you reading, but why aren't you reviewing? You can leave anonymous reviews, so don't be afraid!**

** Hopefully I don't sound too pushy…**

_"What if they hate me?" she asked him as he turned left onto the road he lived on. He looked over at her, then squeezed her hand._

_ They'd been dating for a month and a half. His parents were wondering who he spent all his time with, and they assumed it was just a bunch of different girls. They figured he was looking for his right type of girl, but then James told them he had been "hanging out" with the same girl._

_ His parents were ecstatic, and they wanted to meet her._

_ "They won't hate you," he said, then kissed the back of her hand._

_ After he pulled into the driveway and turned the car off, he looked over at her. She looked like she was about to vomit, to say the least._

_ "I can't do this," she said. _

_ "Yes you can," he encouraged, squeezing her hand again. "You're amazing. And I love you." She looked over at him now, still incredulous that he said those words to her. "And that's all that matter, okay? Nothing even matters but you and I."_

_ She smiled, then leaned over and kissed him gently._

_ "I love you too," she said. He got out of the car, then went over and opened her door. She grinned, then linked her arm through his as they walked toward the front door._

"Do you remember Brylee?"

Ashley looked over at her older brother, who sat in the passenger seat of her car. They were on their way to the hospital, their mom at work, Jeremy still at home in bed. He was so inconsiderate. His father was dying, and the boy couldn't even get out of bed at nine am to go visit him.

"Brylee. Brylee Anderson. The first girl you loved."

"The only girl I loved," James admitted softly.

"What? That can't possibly be true! Even though I never met any of the other ones, you had to be in love with one of them," Ashley said.

James shook his head and said "Nope. Brylee was the first and only girl I've loved."

His baby sister couldn't believe this. So, all those girls she had seen her brother with in pictures…he just slept with them?

She wanted to be angry because she hated people like that, but she could tell this was a sensitive subject for James to be talking about.

"Do you remember her?" he asked again.

"Of course I remember."

"Have…have you seen her around lately?"

James was just begging to god that she still lived around here. He wanted to see that beautiful face he'd stare at when she wasn't looking at him. He wanted to see that perfect body of hers that he'd kiss and touch and cherish.

Ashley thought back for a moment. She saw Brylee all the time, mostly while she was out and running errands, and they'd exchange a smile and wave, but they never talked.

Because that inevitable subject would come up.

James.

And neither Ashley nor Brylee wanted that to happen.

Brylee's heart stung every time she saw James' little sister. She remembered all the memories she had made with the younger girl, but most of all she remembered all the memories she had made with the girl's older brother.

"No," Ashley lied. "Not recently."

James' heart dropped. Had she moved since then? Gotten married? Started a family?

"Well…how was she?"

Ashley swallowed, trying to figure out what to say. She hadn't spoken to Brylee in years. She merely saw her every once in a while.

"We didn't talk," she said. "We just smiled and waved. We were busy."

"Oh," the man said sadly.

"Why are you asking me all this?" Ashley asked.

James knew he should lie right here. But it was his baby sister. He could trust her with anything. And he had to get this off his chest.

"Be-because I still love her."

Ashley was taken aback. James still _loved _the same girl he did eight years ago? The first girl he loved? The _only _girl he loved? This was…unreal.

"So…are you going to try and find her or something?"

"Well, I mean, I don't know. I don't know if she's in a relationship or anything like that."

"I know she started dating Jake…after you…"

"Jake Walker?" James asked.

His sister nodded, and he felt his blood boiling. How didn't he know this before? Why was he just finding this out? Brylee probably got her heart broken by him because he wasn't straight in the head.

The boy was ridiculous. All the girls he dated, most of which were only for a few weeks, and Jake wouldn't let them be around anyone else. He wanted the girl to be his, and only his.

"What the fuck!" James spat suddenly. He was upset, and he felt like crying.

He broke up with a beautiful, smart, loving girl and she fell into Jake Walker's trap?

He let his head fall to the side, and it bonked against the glass window. He closed his eyes, and tried to calm down.

_They were still in North Carolina, and James and Brylee had snuck out to the beach late one night. It was a cool night, and she wore his hockey sweatshirt. They were walking down the beach, his arm tightly around her shoulders, her arm wrapped around his waist._

_ "James?" she said softly._

_ "Hmm?" He looked down at her, and when she smiled up to him, he smiled back._

_ She wanted to ask him a serious question, but now that she was about to do it, she didn't want to._

_ "Nevermind," she said, looking down at the sand beneath her feet as they walked._

_ "Baby, what is it?" he said, pulling her closer to him._

_ "It's stupid," she said, still not looking back at him._

_ "No it's not." He stopped walking, then wrapped his arms around her waist, waiting for her to say something more. "Come on, tell me," he said, poking her in the side. She laughed, that harmonious sound that rang through the air._

_ "It's just…will you stay with me even if you go out to California?"_

_ "What brought this about, beautiful?" James asked. Brylee didn't look to meet his gaze, instead her finger traced over his chest, the fabric of his shirt soft beneath it. "Bry, come on, tell me."_

_ "It's just- I don't wanna lose you, and I'm sure you'll be going out there soon. I mean, you're so talented, and the right time is sure to come soon and I-"_

_ James kissed her tenderly, shutting her up for the moment. When he pulled away, he looked in her eyes and brushed her hair out of her face._

_ "I wouldn't even __**think **__of doing that. It's you and me forever, babe."_

"I lied to her," James said after that memory subsided.

"What are you talking about?" Ashley said.

"I lied to Brylee. I promised her that we'd stay together if I ever went out to California. I lied to her and I lost her forever."

He let out a deep sigh, pushing the tears away.

He knew what he had to do now.

He had to apologize.


	6. Lucy

**I know, One Night should seriously be getting updated…but….I had this idea and needed to get it down. And I wrote some of it on my phone, but I had to write it right now so I am and yeah…Update of One Night is coming soon. Maybe. Probably. Thursday.**

** Oh! And this is the longest chapter yet for this, and I really like it. We're learning more about Brylee's life now :)**

** Review!**

_She lay in his bed, the white blankets pulled up to her shoulders, the fabric soft against her bare skin. She was lying on her side so she could watch her boyfriend, who was sitting in the chair in the corner of his room, playing the guitar in nothing but a pair of sweatpants, and his head was bent over the instrument, focusing on the song he was playing._

_ Thankfully, his parents were out of town and his brother and sister were sent to their aunt's, who lived about thirty minutes away, for the weekend. James was supposed to be there too, but he drove back here, telling his aunt he had a hockey game._

_ Which was true. He _did _have a hockey game…three hours ago. He was supposed to be back to his aunt's house, but he wanted Brylee. She had come to the game like always, then waited for him in the lobby of the rink to congratulate him on a great game._

_ And then, his teenage girls wanted more than just a make out session in his car. He wanted to make love to his girlfriend. And that's just what they did._

_ And now James sat in the chair in his room, playing one of his girlfriend's favorite songs. He wasn't singing, just playing the music. Brylee had a small smile on her face, loving the song James was playing, but she adored the words more. Not to mention, James' voice was amazing, so smooth and…perfect._

_ "Sing to me James," she said softly. The boy looked up, then smiled before starting at the beginning of the song again. _

_**She has no problem with secrets,**_

_** She knows just how to keep them,**_

_** She never felt the need to let them show,**_

_** And I've had no trouble with speaking,**_

_** Or trusting my instincts that maybe **_

_** This is the one that I should know.**_

_** But as I'm waiting there, **_

_** The devil on my shoulder stares,**_

_** Laughing that the one thing**_

_** I can't get is the one thing I need…**_

__Brylee didn't know why she was thinking of that memory as she walked through the hospital. She had been thinking of the song earlier, and obviously it just linked back to James. But, didn't that seem to be the case for everything lately? She couldn't get her ex-lover out of her mind since the other day.

And maybe she didn't want to.

She shook it off as she walked down the last corridor, then pushed open the slightly ajar door, walking into her best friends room.

Lucy was lying in bed, looking a bit livelier than she did the other day, some more color in her face. Her blonde hair looked healthier than it did before, too, and Brylee smiled.

"Bry!" the woman said, excitement in her voice, even though it came out quietly.

"Hi Luc," Brylee said, coming over and giving her a hug.

They had been best friends since their freshman year of high school, somehow managing to keep in contact during college. And they were both ecstatic when Lucy decided to come back to Minnesota. She had went to NYU, all the way over on the east coast, while Brylee stuck to the state school, and now they were back together, and still had fun like in high school.

"How are you?" Lucy asked Brylee. The brunette she should be worried for her friend's health right now, and not her own petty problems, and knew she shouldn't be bringing this up, but she knew she needed to tell someone.

"Do you remember James?" she asked, looking down at her friend's hands that were folded in her lap.

"James Diamond? The sexy ass boy you dated for almost two years?"

Even though Lucy was in the hospital, her potty mouth didn't go away. It wasn't as bad now as it was before, and nowhere near what it was like if she got drunk. She and Brylee had been in a few of those situations, and they'd both be cursing like sailors.

Brylee laughed a little; everyone always thought James was gorgeous, and that included her best friend.

"Yeah," the younger girl said.

"Of course I remember him!" Lucy said, her voice becoming stronger now. "Why?"

"I was just…thinking about him," Brylee admitted.

"Have you been doing that a lot lately?" Lucy put on her motherly act, seeing as though she was a nanny for a living.

"No," the brunette lied.

"Yes," the other woman retorted.

"Fine, yes."

"What kind of thoughts?" Lucy asked now. Brylee looked straight at her friend and shook her head.

"Get your head out of the gutter you dirty girl," she said, lightly smacking her friend's hand. "Not like…sex dreams." The blonde girl rolled her eyes. "They've been memories."

"Memories of what?"

Brylee leaned back in the chair she was sitting in, and let out a sigh.

"The first one was the first time we…you know…"

"Had sex," Lucy said.

The only major different between the best friends was this- the openness of talking about something like sex. Lucy threw the word around like you would say orange, unlike Brylee who felt a little weird saying it so freely. But neither of them threw the action around. They weren't whores.

Made love, Brylee thought.

She was also a strong believer that there was a _big _difference in having sex and making love. She had James had never once had sex, no matter what anyone tried to say. They were in total love, so it was making love. It was just that simple.

"The second was post prom when James and I were talking out on this balcony at one am," the younger girl continued. She didn't really want to bring these back up, because they stung her deep down. "Then there was when he surprised me for Valentine's Day and we spent the night together."

"And had sex," Lucy added. Brylee rolled her eyes.

"And then the one I just had was when he sang me my favorite song one night when we were alone."

"And probably had sex. You just told me theses weren't sex dreams, but they all are except that second one. Seriously, when was the last time you got laid?"

"You're acting like a guy, not my best friend," Brylee said. The older woman rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, when was it?"

Brylee thought back. She'd been dating Jake for eight years. Before that she dated James, and _they _had a pretty active sex life. Once Brylee got together with Jake, though, they waited about a year. Also, it didn't happen nearly as often, and it definitely wasn't as good as James was.

James would be gentle and kiss her skin lightly, leaving goosebumps behind. He'd tell her she was beautiful, and that he loved her, and he'd go slow. But Jake- he really just used Brylee. He was the complete opposite. He told her he loved her, but it was in one of those…pedifile ways. And it always left Brylee feeling dirty.

The last time she had sex was with Jake, and she really hated it, and it was… "Two and a half years ago?" she guessed.

"Good lord!" Lucy said, throwing her hands up.

"I know," Brylee said, running her hands over her face. "It's ridiculous."

"Yeah, fucking ridiculous."

"Lucy, watch that sailor mouth," Dr. Watson said as he walked in. Lucy blushed a bright pink, and Brylee raised an eyebrow. She turned her head as this "Dr. Watson" character came in, and she almost gaped at him.

He was the hottest thing Brylee had seen since…well, James. He had brown hair that was slicked back, tan skin, dark eyes, and he was tall.

Dr. Watson noticed Lucy's friend, and he extended his large hand out to her.

"Joseph Watson. I've been taking care of your friend here for a while," he said. Brylee smiled at him, taking his hand.

As much as she wanted to go on a date with this guy, she could tell Lucy liked him, and by the way "Joe" gazed at her just now made Brylee think he liked her too. How odd. But sweet.

"Brylee," the brunette said.

"Ah, yes. Lucy's told me about you."

She gave him a look, wondering what sort of secrets her knew about her.

_"What's your New Year's wish?"_

_ James and Brylee were at his house, his parents downstairs hosting a huge party like every year. They had snuck up here a few minutes ago, wanting to get away from the party. And, they were a little bit tipsy. Not so much that the older folk would notice, but the teens probably would. You just knew._

_ And every year, James made a wish. No, not a resolution. A wish._

_ "My wish? Hmm," the girl said, crossing her legs beneath her and looking at her boyfriend._

_ Brylee wanted a lot of things._

_ She wanted to get into a good college._

_ She wanted to have a nice year with her boyfriend._

_ And she wanted him to get recognized for his talent._

_ She grinned when James looked over at her._

_ "I want you-" she touched his nose gently, "-to shine."_

_ James smiled, then pressed his lips to hers, pushing her down onto his bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him a little closer. After a moment, she pulled away, her fingers lazily playing with his hair._

_ "What's yours?"_

_ "That I'll be yours forever," he whispered, then kissed her again._

Only if Dr. Joe knew that secret…


	7. John

**Don't hate me for putting up yet another chapter….Seriously, don't. I'm sorry. It's just, I LOVE this story. **

** Review? Please?**

_"James!" she giggled, trying to push his hands away as they traveled up her shirt._

_ "What?" he asked, his hands wrapping around to her back. He pushed her down onto her bed, his hands continuing to grope at her skin, and she stopped fighting now._

_ They had just started making out when a phone rang. James sat up, straddling Brylee's waist, then pulled his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open, sighing before pressing it to his ear._

_ As he listened to the person on the other end, Brylee traced over his jean clad thighs, and James tried to push them away._

_ "Yes, I'll be there," he said, smiling down at his girlfriend, whose hands were traveling higher. "Yes, I promise." _

_ He was practically squirming, and Brylee bit her lip to keep from giggling. _

_ "Alright, cya later!" James said in a fake cheery voice, then snapped hid phone shut. "Damn it," he said, letting himself fall onto the bed next to his girlfriend. She turned to look at him, propping herself up on her elbow._

_ "What?"_

_ "My fucking math teacher called my parents and told them I failed my test," he sighed._

_ "James!" Brylee said, smacking his arm. "I was studying with you and you said you understood everything!"_

_ "I know babe," he said, closing his eyes. "But you were distracting me with that button down shirt you were wearing. Seriously, who the hell wears a button down shirt without another one underneath it?" Brylee rolled her eyes. It wasn't her fault. She was rushed that morning, so she just threw on a button down without putting on a tank top underneath._

_ "You," she said. _

_ "Yeah, but that's different. I don't have boobs that are distracting to others." The teenage girl rolled her eyes again._

_ "These are starting to look like boobs, though," she teased, poking the boy next to her in the pec area. "What have you been __**doing **__since hockey season ended?"_

_ "Getting up your shirt," he said, completely serious, but they both knew he was joking._

_ "God, you're such a pervert." She pushed his hands away from her, smacking them lightly when they moved back toward her._

_ "But a loveable pervert," he chimed in. Brylee leaned over and kissed James. Gosh how much she loved this boy._

James smiled a little despite himself. He remembered that _so _well, just like everything else that happened with Brylee. He was sitting out in the hallway as Ashley talked to John, even though he was completely unresponsive.

The small smile on the brunette's face fell as the present came back to him. His dad had half a chance. He could die, or he could live. It was all a guessing game right now. God, where was Logan when we needed him?

He sunk down into the chair, but only for a moment, then Ashley appeared next to him, eyes slightly red.

"How is he?" James asked softly. Ashley just shrugged, sniffling, then sat down where her brother just sat after he stood up.

The brunette walked the two feet to the door, then took a step in.

It didn't smell any different from the rest of the hospital, still that horrid sterile, s_ick and dying _smell. The walls were a sickly gray, which only made James want to give up all hope about anything at the moment.

He fucking hated life right now.

Well, the only thing he had to look forward to was being an uncle…which was months and months away.

He walked further into the room, then sat down in the chair on his father's right, then took the pale, wrinkled hand in his own taut, tan one.

"Hey dad," James said, smiling. He knew he had to keep it positive; he had to spread the feeling of happiness and faith around the room even though on the inside, he was fighting that, wanting to do something totally different.

He wanted to cry.

He didn't know what to say.

Wait, yes he did.

No, he shouldn't tell his father that. That he's been thinking about the girl his father was sure would be his future daughter-in-law.

Or should he? Gosh, why the hell was he so conflicted?

Maybe it was because that's what that other thing he was feeling on the inside was. He felt conflicted. Like today would be an amazing day, but at the same time it would be horrible.

Just like that one winter day eight years ago.

_They had been dating for one year and eight months. Brylee was waiting outside in the freezing cold, watching snow fall as she waited for James. Yeah, it was __**July**__, but some freak cold front had moved in and made fucked up the weather. It was about eleven o'clock, and he had called her half an hour ago, sounding hysterical, and told her to come meet him outside at eleven because he had something __**very **__important to tell her._

_ "Come on, James. Where the hell are you?" mumbled Brylee through clenched teeth. She was wearing a pair of thing pajama pants and James' hockey sweatshirt. She wore it a lot. She couldn't help it though. It was his- that beautiful boys - and it smelled so good, and it reminded her of the day he let her borrow it for the first time. _

_ They weren't even dating, but very close to it, and they were in English 11, where they met, and Brylee was freezing her ass off because their crazed teacher had a window open in five degree weather._

_ She smiled at the memory, then she heard James' car coming down the driveway. He got out of his car a moment later, and he looked downright depressed._

_ "Baby, what's wrong?" she asked him as he walked toward her. James looked up with sadness in his eyes, then mumbled something about how he was useless and if they could go inside._

_ Brylee found out Gustavo Rocque had come to town on a talent search. Of course his best friends took James to the audition, but then Gustavo picked Kendall. She didn't even know he could sing. But, apparently he had the "fire" and James didn't._

_ But, she did give her boyfriend a…present since he was upset. She took him up to her room, and gave him the best sex they had ever had. And, after __**thinking **__they were going to get caught by her parents (they heard someone out in the hallway), and after making out outside in the falling snow at two am, James left, a stupid smile on his face._

_ Gustavo who?_

"I've been thinking about Brylee. You remember her, right?" James asked, looking at the unresponsive man lying next to him. "Well, I've been thinking about her a lot…"

With the confidence he always had in confiding to his dad, James almost forgot about the older man's deteriorating health, and just ranted on and on.

And he almost forgot about that conflicted emotion.

Almost.


	8. In the Parking Lot

** I know guys, I know. One Night hasn't been updated…cause I have writer's block…again.**

** So, why not write this if I have the idea?**

** You guys are totally awesome with the feedback on this. Love you guys!**

** Oh, and I've kinda noticed that the flashbacks have been a little much lately. Like, the last chapter was pretty much all flashback. Sorry about that, but they're kind of important. But! Once we get into the good stuff, there probably won't be anymore. Basically, that's why this one will probably be so long…Important stuff!**

_"You couldn't have given me more of a warning than this?" Brylee asked, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes._

_ James looked over at his girlfriend, who was sitting on his bed in a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt, her hair up in a messy ponytail._

_ "What are you talking about? You look gorgeous," he said, throwing some jeans into the black suitcase on the floor. The girl rolled her eyes._

_ "That's not what I meant." James kept his eyes on his clothes, swallowing hard. He already knew what she meant. She was wondering why he couldn't have given her more of a warning than six hours. It was barely ten am, and James had woken her up, wanting her to come over here so he could tell her the fantastic news._

_ He had gotten his chance. He was going to LA with Kendall, Logan and Carlos. He was going to be famous._

_ But he didn't know how he'd make it without Brylee, her soft skin, her sweet smelling hair, her gentle touch._

_ He dropped the shirts he was holding, then walked over to his bed and sat down next to her. She looked at him sadly, then immediately looked back down, trying to keep the sobs inside of her._

_ "You know-"_

_ "Please," she said, her throat tight. "Jus-just hold me. Please."_

_ James closed his eyes, hating seeing his girlfriend like this, then wrapped his arms around her, and she buried her head in his chest, her tears getting dried by his t-shirt._

_ He loved this girl so much, and he hated having to leave her, but he knew one day he'd be back for her and they'd pick up right where they left off. They'll talk every night, and it'll be like they weren't even apart._

_ He was going to miss a lot of things about her, especially that special little thing he shared with her called making love. He didn't want anyone else to experience that, he wanted just her to know how he felt._

"Damn it," James mumbled. How the hell could he forget something like that? He had broken so many promises he made to Brylee about California and didn't keep _a single one_. Oh, how he hated himself.

He wanted to see her. Like, right now. He wanted to see her face, although he could see it in his mind at the drop of a hat. He wanted to hear her voice, although he could hear it ringing in his ears.

He was walking around the hospital in search for Logan, wanting to talk to him. Even though Logan wasn't John's official doctor, James wanted any news about his father from his best friend.

He wondered past the nurse's station, and he noticed that some of them smirked at him as he walked past. Dear god, had he become that much of a whore that he was just screaming _I'll take you home tonight_?

He cringed, and kept his head straight, then turned down another brightly lit corridor.

And it's when he heard it.

That laugh.

_Her _laugh.

He felt his entire body grow hot in a millisecond, but fuck, it was just his mind playing tricks on him. There was no way she'd be here. She probably didn't even live around here anymore. He didn't dare turn his head, because that's when the dream broke away.

"Luc, I'm telling you, he's practically in love with you," Brylee tried to tell her best friend about "Dr. Joe." They were taking a short little walk around the hospital since Lucy was up for it, but she wasn't up for accepting the fact that she was practically in love with her doctor.

"No he's not," she said. The brunette rolled her eyes, and when she looked forward, she swears she saw someone familiar.

Stop it, she scolded herself. Stop. He's not here. He won't ever be.

"Uh, Luc?" The brunette pulled her friend closer to her, her hand on her sick friend's wrist. "Is it just me, or is that face really familiar?"

Lucy looked at the guy that was about twelve feet in front of them, and her eyes widened as she looked over at Brylee.

"Holy shit," she said, otherwise lost for words. "Is that…?"

Brylee nodded, knowing she hasn't gone crazy.

"Come on, I need to get back to my room," Lucy said, pulling her friend by her hand in the other direction.

Brylee kept her eyes on the figure until she disappeared around the corner.

James finally turned around, and, like he thought, nothing.

Nothing at all.

He sighed heavily, then finally spotted Logan down the hallway. He walked a bit faster to catch up with him, then placed a hang on his shoulder.

"Hey, what's up?" the shorter man said.

"The weirdest fucking thing just happened…I think," James said.

"What was it?" Logan asked, turning to look at his friend.

"I think I just heard Brylee. And don't even call me crazy. I _know _it was her laugh."

"And why didn't you, I don't know, talk to her?"

"One- she was with someone and two- What the fuck! No!"

"Relax," Logan said, a smile on his face. "It can't be that bad if you try and talk to her."

"Alright, Logie, whatever you say," the brunette said, his tone evident with sarcasm.

Half an hour later, Brylee was walking out of the hospital, her large brown bag slung over her shoulder. She wanted to see what she saw earlier again. All her thoughts kept retracing back to that one guy.

She ran a hand through her hair, fluffing it a bit as the doors slid open and she stepped out, looking down at the boots on her feet.

James was outside of the hospital, taking a breather. Ashley was inside saying a few last things to John, and her brother was wandering around outside in the chilled December air.

He was looking down at the Converse on his feet, his hands in his pockets, when he rammed into a body, shorter than him, and he grabbed their elbow to keep them from falling, and they grabbed his other hand.

Brylee looked up, and she felt her breathing stop completely. She almost wanted to cry.

"James," she said, so softly it could barely be heard above the winter wind.

"Brylee," he said in the same tone.

James couldn't believe this. The girl he was- and is - in love with is right in front of his face. He looked over her, and couldn't fathom that she was just as perfect as the day he left. His eyes quickly went down to her left hand, searching for a ring of any kind. Nothing. That was good.

Brylee felt light-headed. Here he was- the guy who broke her heart- right in front of her face. She wanted to lean up and kiss him, to feel those lips like she had before, but she couldn't do that. He was probably in some sort of relationship.

I have to apologize, James thought.

Why is he here? Brylee pondered.

They stared at each other for what felt like infinity, and wondered where to go from here.


	9. Silence

**OH MY GOSH, YOU GUYS! I totally just remembered I forgot to mention the song I used in chapter six…again! This is chapter nine, and it seriously should've already been mentioned. But! Alas, here it is. The song I used for creative purposes only is **_**She (For Liz)**_** by Parachute. I'll put a YouTube link to the song on my profile because if you've never heard it, you MUST listen to it. I think the band is British, but I really have no clue. Do any of you know? If so, let me know in a review! **

** Anyway, my freaking writer's block for One Night is still with me. I know what I want (slightly) in the next chapter, but I don't know how to write it. So, I hope this story's frequent updates make up for that.**

** Review :)**

It was one of those moments when everything seemed to stop. The world around you, other people, heck, even breathing. Surprisingly, there wasn't any sort of tension in the air. They just stared into each other's eyes, not sure of what to do.

James wanted so badly to pick up where they left off, but he knew he couldn't do that. Even though she hadn't obviously forgotten about him, she _had _moved on, unlike himself. He was still hooked on her, and wanted her to be there for him again.

On the contrary, Brylee didn't know what the hell she wanted to do. Part of her knew she shouldn't be standing here with all these thoughts of him in her mind, and the other part wanted to, in a way, start over. She wanted him to hold her, and take away all the pain she had inside her from the past eight years of hell she had been living in.

The brunette still hadn't figured out why she had been with Jake so long, and maybe this was the answer. Fate brought these two people back together. Brylee knew that. She believed in fate, and she couldn't ignore that sign.

"I need you to help me," she finally said, her voice a whisper. She looked up at James, and his hazel eyes were looking at her softly, tenderly, and she knew he still cared, deep down, even if he didn't want to admit it aloud.

"With what?" he asked. Brylee looked down and swallowed hard.

"Everything."

The car ride to Brylee's house was quiet, both adults trying to figure things out. James had told Ashley about what happened, and she went home, and her brother left with his ex-lover to help her with whatever she needed. He didn't know what exactly she meant, but he knew he had to help her.

He still cared for her, for her feelings, for everything.

James stepped into Brylee's house behind her, and he felt…awkward. He knew that she was with Jake, and figured he lived here, even though it didn't look like her did. It was clean and perfect, with no signs that a man lived here anywhere.

Brylee, on the other hand, was freaking out on the inside. She didn't know why she brought him here or what she was going to tell him. She missed this guy so much, and knows he was finally here and she was so confused as to what to do. She wanted to tell him everything, just to get it off her chest, but he probably wouldn't care.

"So, uh, what's up?" James asked, walking into the kitchen behind her. She stood by the end of the island, where there were two dark stained wood stools, her back to him. Brylee swallowed, then pulled off her coat and draped it over one of the chairs she was standing next to. For some reason, the brunette woman could hardly keep her composure right now. She knew she was about to lose it, so she had to do this quickly.

"I messed up," she choked out before closing her eyes and swallowing the lump in her throat.

James didn't know what she was talking about. Was he supposed to? He stood there, wondering if she was going to turn around, or if he should just go hold her. It had been so long since the last time something like this happened. And James hadn't once held someone like he held Brylee in his arms that last day they were together.

James took a few steps closer, only about a foot away from her, and then suddenly Brylee turned around. Her breath caught for a moment, and she resisted the urge to wrap her arms around him and cry into his chest. She could do that before. Not anymore. Things were different now.

"Messed up what?" His voice was soft and caring, and it made Brylee feel comfortable now. It made her feel safe.

"My life," she said, looking up to the taller man in front of her.

"That can't be true," he said.

She shook her head, and she felt her hands starting to shake. This usually only happened when Jake was around, but the stress and anxiety had gotten too much for the young woman just _thinking _about him.

"And you started it," Brylee cried out of nowhere. She immediately regretted it as soon as it came out of her mouth, and she brushed past James and went into the living room. She sat down on the couch and hid her face in her hands, mascara running from her eyes to her skin.

James felt horrible, to put it simply. It was one hundred percent true. If he hadn't broken up with her, Jake never could've gotten hold of her and ruin such a beautiful personality. He knew from the second he saw her in the parking lot earlier that _something _had changed, and this was definitely it. And now he felt responsible to fix it.

He broke her, so wasn't that the only choice he had? To fix her?

And he knew exactly where he had to begin.

He walked over to the living room and sat down next to the one he was still so much in love with, and wrapped his arms around her body.

He missed that sensation of the simplest touch, and now it was back. He felt as though this is where his arms belonged, around this gorgeous woman.

Brylee was shocked at what had just happened, but her body melted into his, and she buried her face in his strong body, and this was the first time in eight fucking years that she felt okay again. No one had held her since the last time James was around. No one was around to dry her tears. She felt safe in his arms, like nothing bad was going to happen. All she wanted was protection.

For a moment, James just let her cry, not even bothered she was making his t-shirt wet with tears and stained with make-up. There was no noise beside her almost silent sobs, and he rubbed his hands up and down her back, hating seeing her cry. It was almost an eerie silence, and it made him feel cold.

He didn't even want to know the things Jake said or did to Brylee. He knew by the way this house felt that horrible things happened inside its walls.

God, how could he have let this happen?

"I'm sorry," he said, breaking the unbearable silence.

The unbearable silence of the moment. Of the past. Of everything.


	10. Awkward Happenings

**So, I just saw the commercial for the new BTR, and I gotta say- that long sleeved shirt James was wearing…No, this is creepy, I won't tell you. No, I will. Let's just say I wanted to rip it off and wear it….Alright that was awkward. Just read the chapter.**

Brylee had to have been crying now for a good half hour, and she was just glad that James was being patient with her. He didn't have to be sitting here holding her. He hadn't said much, except he kept repeating "I'm sorry." The crying woman didn't know why that was. What could she possibly be sorry for?

Despite what others may think, James was more than content with just holding this beautiful body in his arms. Her sobs had become a few soft hiccups here and there, and he figured she was worn out and dozing off.

Brylee felt safe and at home in James' arms, and she was completely aware that of her closing eyes and her breathing slowing, but she didn't pull away, instead letting her head rest on his chest and her body relax.

James looked down and noticed that Brylee had fallen asleep comfortably in his arms, and he smiled a little before sliding an arm under her legs and picking her up with ease. He headed up the stairs, then was faced with a problem- where was her bedroom? To the left there were three doors, two on the left, one on the right, and then a little to the right of James there was a door by itself.

He figured that was her room, and went over to it, knocking the slightly ajar door open with his elbow. On the left side was a bed, fitted with a caramel-colored comforter, and a thin green blanket folded at the foot, and across from the bed was a black dresser with a mirror hanging above it. Parallel to the wall James was standing in front of were two French doors, leading to a balcony.

James thought the entire house was decorated beautifully, but it was lacking one thing- pictures. His parent's house had pictures everywhere, of him, his siblings, his parents, and all their other relatives. _He _even had a few pictures at his apartment back in LA.

He laid Brylee down on her bed gently, then picked up the blanket from the foot of the bed and put it over her body. The man was about to lean down and press a kiss to her forehead, but he stopped himself.

What the hell are you doing? He asked himself, backing away from the bed. Don't cross any lines, James.

He sighed, then turned to leave, closing the door quietly behind him. He didn't know if he should stay or leave, but quickly came to a resolution of what he could do.

When Brylee woke up, she felt warmth surrounding her body, but she quickly realized it wasn't another person, instead a blanket. She sat up, surprised to see that she was in her bed.

She glanced over at the clock on her bedside table, and saw that it was almost five o'clock. She didn't even know what time she fell asleep, but she figured it was somewhere around two.

The brunette got up, then pulled her hair up as she walked out of the room and down the stairs.

"James?" she called somewhat quietly, hesitantly. No answer. Brylee walked through the hallway to the kitchen, then noticed something sitting on the island countertop.

She walked over to it, then realized it was a note on a crumpled piece of paper. She picked it up, then looked down at it, immediately recognizing the handwriting as James'.

_Bry-_

_ Call me if you need anything. 239-6752. I'll probably be around for a while, so we should definitely hang out. _

_ -James _

Brylee smiled despite herself, then set the note back down on the counter. She didn't want to call too soon, but she did want to catch up.

Some may think she would be bitter that her ex-lover was in town and wanting to be with her, but she wasn't. How could she be when she was still in love with him?

She glanced back down at the piece of paper, which looked like it had been torn from the whole sheet, then she turned it over. The back had writing on it, just little scribbles of words, and she crinkled her face up trying to figure out what it said.

Brylee quickly gave up, then left the piece of paper there, running her hands over her face. She knew she shouldn't be getting involved with someone like this- someone who knew her better than she knew herself. Someone who not only loved her once, but broke her heart.

But is this what her heart was telling her to do? To not let anything happen?

No, that _had _to be her mind.

She sighed softly, then headed up the stairs, more than ready for a shower. A minute or two later, she shut the white door behind her, then turned on the water before pulling off her clothes. She let her hair fall over her shoulders before stepping into the tiled shower.

The brunette closed her eyes as the water washed over her body, but the picture that popped into her mind was…James.

She opened her eyes quickly, not wanting that sort of thing right now. She took a deep breath and tried to push it away from her train of thought before grabbing the shampoo and washing her hair.

_James closed the door quietly behind him before stripping himself of his t-shirt and jeans, letting them fall to the floor. The water was quite loud, so he didn't think she'd hear him. He creeped into the shower, making sure not to move the curtain._

_ He snuck up on the beautiful body who's back was to him, then grabbed her by the waist, making her scream loudly, almost slipping as she turned to face the taller man, who just stood there with a stupid smile._

_ "What the fuck!" she said, slapping chest with the back of her hand._

_ "Ow," he pouted._

_ "You deserved it. You scared the shit out of me." She turned away from him, angry that he just gave her a heart attack. James moved closer again, then put his hand on her stomach, pulling her to him._

_ "But you have to admit you love me naked," he said in her ear, and she closed her eyes and swallowed hard._

_ She tried to make a coherent sentence, but all that came out was a soft moan as he kissed her neck and his hand moved down her thigh._

"What the hell?" Brylee said aloud, opening her eyes again. What just happened? That definitely was not something that happened between her and James. So she just had a sex dream? But, that couldn't be right. She wasn't asleep.

This was so messed up. She quickly finished up, wanting to get out of the bathroom, and she cringed as she thought about it.

"Wait, that really happened?" Michelle Oliver asked one of her best friends. They had met in college a few years back, and they soon became inseparable. Brylee quickly found the trust to tell the other brunette woman about her past with James, and the situation she was in with Jake.

"It was so fucked up," Brylee said, the phone pressed to her ear as she walked down the stairs in nothing but a short pink robe tied tightly around her waist.

"I'll say." There was a short silence, and on the other end there was a shuffling of papers. Brylee figured it was the younger woman going through her large pile of mail on her kitchen table since she always procrastinated and never went through it. "How are things with Jake?" she asked.

"Still shitty," Brylee said, turning to look at herself in the mirror in the foyer. She had her now dry hair pulled back into a loose side ponytail, and she pushed a piece behind her ear.

"You need to get out of it. You think he won't snap, but honey, one day he will," Michelle said, just wanting her friend to be happy, because right now she sure wasn't.

"I know."

"If you need anything, let me know, alright? If you need me to come out and stay with you for any reason, I'll drop everything okay?"

Brylee smiled at herself, loving Michelle for the things like that that she said. She was completely serious, too. She'd do anything for anyone.

"I know you will. And I promise I'll let you know if I need you."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, which made Brylee jump, a hand over her heart. She walked over to the white door, then unlocked it.

"Alright, good. Bye," she said.

"Bye," Brylee said, then hung up the phone and set it on the small round table that was next to the door, where her keys said.

She pulled the door opened, and she held herself back from cursing out loud. There she was, in all her glory, in her tight pink robe that only went, oh, two inches past her butt, and standing on her porch was James Diamond.

"Uh, hey," she said.

"Hi," he said sheepishly. "I know I left a note and everything, but I just- I wanted to see you."

Was this the moment she had been waiting eight years for? Or was this another one of those freak dreams?

"Um, come in," Brylee said, stepping aside so the tall man could step inside from the cold weather. She glanced down at herself, then back at James, who was three or four feet away, looking awkward.

It's all this damn robe's fault, Brylee thought.

"I'll be right back," she said, gesturing up the stairs as she took the first step. James nodded, as though she should already be up the stairs. As soon as she had the bedroom door shut behind her, she leaned against it, letting out a breath.

Downstairs in the foyer, James was doing the same. He remembered everything about her, and nothing, absolutely _nothing _changed about that woman's body. She still had that same skin tone, the same legs he'd always run his hands down and make her squirm.

"Shit," he mumbled after he noticed the fabric of his pants was feeling uncomfortable. How did he always create this sexual tension with himself? Did his body absolutely hate him?

He walked the few feet to a door on the left side of the hallway, trying to hold back the uncomfortable groan that was in his throat.

He praised the lords that this room was the bathroom, then he shut and locked the door behind him before sitting on the closed toilet seat. He couldn't just jerk off right here, could he? Brylee would be back any moment.

Either way, he was going to be embarrassing himself. She'd either find him with a hard on, or find him jerking off.

And then his plan would be ruined. She'd never want him back now. And he didn't even want to have this kind of thing happened. He was merely just worried about her and why she had a breakdown earlier today.

All he wanted was for her to be like the girl she was when he left. The free-spirited, confident girl he'd fallen in love with. But things had changed. Eight fucking years past, he broke her heart, and now she was with a douche.

And James had to fix it.

**Okay, guys, major question. Does the rating of this story need to be bumped up? I feel paranoid about it, and things may or may not get a little…carried away in future chapters. Should I poll it up? Yes, let's do that. SO YOU BETTER GO ANSWER THE POLL. Right now! Do it! It's important!**


	11. In the Car

**So, the rating has officially been bumped up for this, and even though I hope not to lose any readers, I hope to gain a few new ones. So, enjoy this latest chapter because things are about to crazy after this.**

** Go check out my collection of one-shots called **_**Stories of Our Lives.**_** Taking requests, details in the first chapter. Go read and review!**

** Review :)**

** Loveee.**

Brylee dug through her closet for a moment, then picked up a pair of jeans off the floor and pulled them on, then grabbed a new sweater and slid it on quickly. Sure, she was surprised James just showed up, but she was glad he made the first move (again) because she knew quite well she would have an epic fail if she had to do it.

James was in the bathroom, still sitting there, willing his "problem" to go away. And it was kind of working. He just didn't want to embarrass himself in front of a girl he hadn't seen in eight years. He wanted her to think he was doing okay and that she could take him back and not worry about getting her heart broken again.

Brylee walked down the stairs, and noticed that James wasn't in the foyer anymore.

"James?" she called out as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Fuck,'' James said, jumping up and walking over to the sink. "Um, I'll be right out."

"Okay," the woman said, brushing it off as nothing. "I'll be in the kitchen."

James looked at himself in the mirror, then squeezed his eyes shut and wished his hard on would go away. He sighed deeply when the confides of his jeans felt normal again, then he unlocked the door and walked down the hallway.

Brylee was currently digging through her cabinets, looking for something to eat, but she sighed when she found hardly anything. She knew she had to take a trip to the grocery store, and tomorrow she had to go to work, but she didn't just want to kick James out. Not after he did all these things for her.

She turned around, and James was standing by the island, and he grinned at her when she looked over at him.

"You wouldn't mind running a quick errand with me, would you?" she asked sheepishly.

"No, not at all. It'll give us time to catch up," he said.

Brylee's heart almost stopped. Catch up.

She couldn't do that. Because that meant that James would probably find out about her fucked up relationship with Jake, which was the last thing he wanted her to know.

She had already told James about how she messed up her life, but she never specified what exactly was messed up.

"Alright," she said, walking over to him. "Let's go."

(Page Break.)

"So, how are the guys?" Brylee asked, making conversation as she drove to the grocery store.

"You remember them?" James was genuinely surprised. He didn't think she'd remember them, but he had to admit, they _were _hard to forget.

"Of course I do," she laughed. "You made me spend practically every weekend with them."

"I never made you do such a thing!" he said dramatically, throwing his hand up. The brunette rolled her eyes, even though she was smiling. If she and James could have this sort of relationship, maybe even something a little more _beneficial, _why not?

"Would you just answer my question?" she asked again, making a left at the stop sign.

"I haven't talked to Kendall or Carlos in a few weeks, but last time I did, they were doing really well."

"What are they doing now?"

"Kendall's playing hockey in Canada, and Carlos is doing border control in Texas."

"Really?" Brylee was shocked. Carlos was a little ball of energy, and that was really the last thing she expecting him to do after spending six years in LA, he'd find something to do there. But border control? That was one of the most dangerous places you could work! But if anyone could handle it, it would be Carlos.

"Yup. And Logan's a-"

"Doctor," she finished. "I've seen him at the hospital before."

James nodded, but wondered if the two had ever spoken since Logan started working there. He was going to ask her, but she said something else first.

"And what have you been doing?"

The million dollar question.

"Uh, some little roles on TV shows and movies, but that's about it," he said, glancing out the window.

"Oh, no sleeping around?"

Brylee didn't mean to say it, but it just came out. She wasn't angry, or bitter or upset. It was more like…teasing. She didn't know if he really did something like that, but to be totally honest, she wouldn't be surprised. James whipped his head to look at the girl sitting less than three feet away from him.

He wanted to say _Yes, I slept around. A lot, _but he just couldn't. It wasn't the same thing he did with Brylee. He made love with her. The other girls, he just had sex with them. One night things, maybe two hook-ups, never more.

He started his random hook-ups a few months after breaking up with Brylee. It's not like he couldn't make himself orgasm or anything, he just needed more than just that. So he found girls who were in the same mindset as him, and wouldn't get attached.

"James," Brylee said, a smile on her face. James looked over. "I was kidding. You look like you're about to cry or something."

He stifled a laugh, to try and cover up what he was feeling. No, he had to tell her. He felt like it was his responsibility to.

"No," he said. The woman looked over, looking confusing.

"What?"

"I mean, yes, I slept around." He looked down at his hands, completely embarrassed now, and he could feel his cheeks burning.

Brylee felt her jaw tighten involuntarily. She didn't know why this made her angry, she didn't think it would, but she was pissed.

"Oh," she said. Now things were awkward.

"What have you been up to since I left?" James asked, changing the subject.

James admitted what he had done, so Brylee felt the need to tell him how messed up her own life had gotten in the past eight years.

"I've been working at the high school," she said, trying to cover up the crack in her voice.

"Teaching English," he said, smiling. He already knew that's what it had to be. He remembered that they had met in their eleventh grade English class, and she knew everything about anything in that class.

It probably didn't seem like that hard of a class, but with those books they were reading, they had a lot of translation they had to do since they were old English, and she was just able to figure it out. Then James found out she read books like that _all _the time. She was brilliant, to put it simply.

"Yeah," Brylee laughed. "Tenth grade."

James laughed too, then said "Ah, those little demons."

"They're not that bad. You should come in to class one day. I'm sure the girls would be all over you," she joked.

"I'm sure half of them listened to Big Time Rush when they were seven or eight."

"Probably," she agreed.

Maybe telling James about the other half of her life wouldn't be so bad after all. Maybe he could help her get rid of Jake. Maybe he could help change her entire life.

_Again._


	12. If You Jump, I Jump

**Hello darlings :) I know that it's been forever, and I'm sorry! **

**ANNOUNCEMENTS: please please please go check out **_**The Stories of Our Lives, **_**my one shot collection, and review and leave requests (all will be taken besides slash.) Also! You should totally go read fearless523's stories, because they're ah-mazing! **

**References to Macbeth and Titanic, which I do not own. **

Brylee and James had made it to and from the grocery store last night without any more awkward situations like what happened in the car. They talked about everything, their families, their friends, their jobs, but they both stayed away from that one topic.

_Each other._

They didn't want to bring up the relationship they had eight years ago, or what was going on now because something would be said about how they felt now by one or the other, and they were afraid the opposite didn't feel the same.

They just didn't know that both of them wanted that relationship again. James wouldn't admit it because he thought Brylee figured he had moved on, and that she wouldn't want to get her heart broken again. Brylee wouldn't admit anything because technically, she was in a relationship, even though it was the shittiest thing ever, and to be totally honest, she didn't want to get her heart broken that badly again.

She didn't think she could handle trying to heal her heart after being broken by the same guy _again_. She had given him her all when they were teens, and she thought she was over the devastation of them breaking up, but now that James was back, truth was, she wasn't.

Brylee let out a sigh, wondering why she couldn't even get James off her mind while she was at work. It was Monday, but thankfully it was last period, and her class was taking a short vocabulary quiz. The day only had about fifteen minutes left, and Brylee couldn't wish more for it to go by faster.

She stood up from her desk, then walked in between the rows of students, glancing at a few of them as she walked by, her black heels clicking on the floor. She went to the board and erased the notes she had her students take there earlier in class as they tried to figure out what Macbeth was actually saying.

Brylee had to admit, it reminded her of when she was in English, back in eleventh grade when she met James, and she spent all those hours at his house trying to get him to understand it. Of course, at first, they strictly stuck to the studying, but as their relationship developed, the studying would move to the couch, where they'd always end up making out when they were alone, then they'd eventually end up in James' bedroom, his hands up her shirt and under her bra.

_Stop it, _she scolded herself. _You're at your job. _

She placed the eraser back on the ledge, then turned back to her class, eyeing up her less responsible students. She'd never caught them cheating, but something inside her told her they would. She knew she probably shouldn't think that of any student, but she was only human.

James wondered down the hall, in search of the right room. He didn't know why he was here, or why he wanted to do this now, but he just couldn't _stand _this anymore. He had to initiate something, just to see if there was anything there anymore.

He was sure there was, because when he first saw her again, he got that same feeling. His mouth went dry, his throat swelling slightly, his stomach lurching, like he was going to throw up or something.

He found the door, a plain, thick, wooden one with a silver handle, a window on the left hand side, but it was covered with quotes written on different colors of construction paper. He recognized a few of them from movies he was forced into seeing, as well as books he'd read.

One said _"If you jump, I jump."_ He grinned, remembering the countless times he had watched that movie with her, his arms wrapped around her body as she cried when Jack died. And to be honest, that's how they were back then. They were in it together, there for each other. And James needed that again.

He lifted his hand up, then knocked lightly twice.

Brylee was about to walk back to her desk when someone knocked on the door, and she walked over and opened it, surprised to see James, of all people, standing in the hallway, his hands in his pockets. He wore jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket, and he had a small smile on his face which she found outrageously adorable.

James was now two feet away from that gorgeous face, those brown eyes, those pink lips. She stood just inside the doorway, her hand still on the silver knob, in a pink sweater, a gray skirt and black tights.

"Hi," she said, looking confused, but she was smiling. "What are you doing here?"

"You told me to come visit you during class, so I am," he said.

"You are aware there's only, like, eight minutes of school left, right?" she asked, opening the door a little bit wider.

James nodded and chuckled before saying "I know. But Ashley couldn't give me a ride before this."

"You made your sister drive you here?" Brylee asked, and after he nodded again, she slapped his arm. "She's a busy girl; you shouldn't make her do that!" The taller man just shrugged, then stepped into her classroom, which had posters of literary devices and motifs all around the room.

Everyone in the class, who were all done with their quizzes, looked up at this foreign visitor, and some of the girls practically swooned, and Brylee noticed. She knew if she was in their position, though, she'd be doing the same thing.

"Guys, this is my friend James," she said, gesturing toward him as she collected the quizzes, trying to hide the blush on her face.

* * *

James sat in an empty desk in the back of the room as he waited for those last eight minutes to go by, and he picked up a stray copy of Macbeth. He remembered how he had spent so freaking long trying to figure out what the characters were actually saying, and how much shit he got from Brylee about not paying attention when their teacher explained it, or something like that.

Now, though, the room was empty, the bell not even ringing a minute ago. James figured it was now or never, literally, so he stood up, taking the book with him. "This was on the desk," he said to Brylee, who was crouched down, digging through a filing cabinet.

"Oh," she said, standing up and smoothing a hand over her skirt. "Thanks."

She took it from him, and their hands brushed against each other, and she felt heat shoot through her body. She cleared her throat as she turned her back to him and put it on the shelf. She remembered every little thing he'd ever done with his hands, pushing hair out of her face, wiping tears away, and then there was all those..._other, personal _things he'd do with his hands.

"So, um, I was wondering…" James trailed off, then wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans. Brylee turned around and waited patiently. James had never really asked her out. They were friends, who just got closer and closer until they kissed that one night, and there was no discussion that they wanted to date. Sure, he'd ask her to go to the movies and things like that, but this was different.

This was like they had never dated before, and he was admitting his crush to her. Or at least, Brylee thought he was doing that.

"If, maybe, you'd want to go, go get coffee or something," he said, and immediately hated how fucking stupid he sounded with his stuttering.

Brylee smiled just slightly, her eyes seeming to shine. Could this be the beginning of a new millennium? Or was this just as friends? She'd have to see how they went about this "getting coffee."

"I'd really like," Brylee said.

James, personally, was shocked. She really was okay with this? He would've thought she'd never want to "go out" with him again, with all he did to her. But maybe she had changed. Or maybe she didn't take that as a date.

Either way, he didn't care. This girl was going to be his again.


	13. Coffee

**GUYSSS! Hi! Sorry it's been a while, but I'm back, and I've got all summer long to write! Yay!**

** HEY! You know what you should also do? Go read (and review?) my one-shot called Tears From Heaven. I worked really hard, and I love it a lot, and it would mean the world to me! Thanks!**

** You should review this, too :)**

"It seemed like a really cool concept, so I just went for it," James finished. Brylee nodded, taking a sip of her coffee.

They were in a little tiny coffee shop they always used to come to, doing a little more catching up. He was telling her about this movie he had just finished filming, an action thriller, like an updated version of Indiana Jones.

"When does it come out?" Brylee asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Probably in a month or so. At least, that's when the premiere party is." The woman laughed and nodded again.

She liked this. She liked talking about nothing and drinking coffee when it was cold out, liked being around someone she was comfortable with. Would that be an appropriate word? Comfortable? Yeah, she was more comfortable around James than anyone else. He had seen a side of her no one else had. That side of her when she falling asleep or just waking up, her voice scratchy with sleep. That side of her that squirmed underneath the blankets when she and James would make love. No one else saw that, and James was just realizing how lucky 16 year old him was. He just realized how special Brylee was.

She was a tough girl, didn't like no as an answer, loved kids, loved animals, loved summertime and hot chocolate. She hated feet and spiders, and hated Trig with a passion. She was a horrible singer, sounded like a dying seal or something, and she knew that.

James sang to her all the time when he was around, especially when they were at school. He always talked about what shows were coming up, and what part he was going out for. Brylee had stuck a handful of fries in his mouth more than once during their lunch period to stop him from ranting for two seconds.

She really wanted that again. She wanted that relationship she had with him. They didn't have to see each other all the time or even be texting or talking to know how they felt and what was going on. They were constantly on each other's minds, and they knew that the other half loved them.

James had enough of this beating around the bush. He just suddenly realized it. He wanted this girl back. He would do anything he had to to make this girl his. He wanted all of her, and he'd give her all of him in return. He'd do everything she needed, and support all her decisions and dreams.

"We should probably get out of here," Brylee said suddenly, pulling James out of his thoughts. "The after school crowd is starting to kick in." She pulled on her pea coat, then stood up and slung her bag over her shoulder before picking up her coffee.

James just stared at her, then stood up and put his own jacket on before grabbing his cup and heading out the door. Brylee was just opening the door of her car when he got to it, and he opened the passenger side and slid in.

"Nothing's changed," James noted as Brylee drove down a road he found extremely familiar. He couldn't say it was a back road, seeing as though all the roads here were like that, but, it was a back road. He had driven down this particular road everyday on his way to and from school, his parent's house on the next road on the right.

Brylee smiled, glancing over at James. "I don't think it ever will," she said, and he laughed.

"You should come out to LA one time," James suggested. "It would be like a culture shock."

Holy shit, Brylee thought. He just invited me out to California with him.

"Maybe I will," Brylee said, maybe flirting a little bit.

"You could come to my movie premiere."

Fuck, the man cursed himself inwardly. What did you just do?

"We'll see," she said this time, her eyes on the road. Gosh, why was she suddenly being so flirty with him and giving him unclear answers?

She thanked the lord that she was pulling into the driveway, seeing as though she'd do anything to get out of this situation.

She pulled her keys out of the ignition, then grabbed her bag and headed for the front door, James trailing right behind her. It had gotten much colder in the past ten minutes, and the clouds that hung thickly overhead smelled like snow.

She smiled, hoping it would be snowing in a few days. Her birthday was coming up, and she always loved when she woke up with a bunch of snow on the ground. She liked putting on a thick sweater and drinking white hot chocolate with red velvet cake.

Brylee stepped into her house, warmth hitting her all around, and she flipped on the light. She walked into the kitchen, pulling her coat off as she did so, then laid it over a chair. She took her heels off and sighed happily, then sat down on one of the stools and rubbed her feet.

"God, I need to stop wearing heels every day," she mumbled as James appeared, and he smiled.

"Your birthday's coming up soon," he said, just remembering that it was in five days, this Saturday.

"Yeah," she said, grinning. "And I'm going to be twenty four!"

"Hey, I've been twenty four since July, and I still look good." Brylee rolled her eyes at the man standing by the island.

"You said that every year."

"I did not," James argued.

"Yes you did."

She stood up, yawning slightly, then said "I'm gonna go change real quick. I'll be right back." James nodded, then watched her disappear up the stairs.

He walked around her kitchen, taking everything in, the décor on the walls, the paint color. He noticed the calendar on the refrigerator, and he read what was on it. On every Sunday, it said _Visit Lucy, 11am._ During the week she had a few things written down, like dinner with a friend or the occasional doctor's appointment. This Saturday there was nothing written down, not even dinner with her parents or something. It was her birthday, and she had no plans.

And James decided he was going to change that.


	14. At the Grocery Store

**Hi guys! This is one of the longer chapters, and I really like it!**

**Also, I know more of you are reading, but why no reviews? That makes me sad :(**

**So will you review this and go read my other story? I'd love you forever!**

The rest of the school week went by too slowly for Brylee. All she wanted to do was go home and curl up with a book and a nice big cup of coffee. Her birthday was coming up on Saturday, and she usually went out with Lucy, seeing as though she was her closest friend, but she was in the hospital, so as of now, she had no plans.

She also hadn't seen James since the day they got coffee, and she wondered what was up with him. She was hoping she didn't scare him away, but she didn't recall saying anything bluntly rude or honest. She gave up for now, just glad that school was done for the weekend, and that she only had seven more days of school until it was Christmas break. She was hoping that Lucy would be out of the hospital by next week, because the two women had talked about going somewhere warm together.

Brylee pulled her car into a spot at the local grocery store, then grabbed her bag before getting out of her car and heading for the entrance. Light snow had begun to fall, and the brunette woman beamed, knowing this was only the beginning. She walked into Sherwood's grocery store, immediately walking over to the bakery. She was going to buy herself a red velvet cake with buttercream frosting.

Was she upset that she was spending her birthday alone? A little bit, but she didn't really need people around to tell her she was getting older. Sure, she would love to see her parents, but they didn't care. They never did. She was always alone when she was younger, her parents always working, or going on impromptu weekend ski trips.

She wondered why they even had a kid if they didn't care. She couldn't remember her parents ever congratulating her on a good report card, ever caring about how she was, never wondering about the boy she was dating.

She was shocked they even came to her graduation, but part of her only felt that her parents came so they could brag to their friends about how their daughter was second in her class. She would've been Valedictorian if it wasn't for that stupid Brian Walker. That kiss ass.

But whatever, she didn't care anymore. She was onto better things.

Brylee walked around the bakery area, lips pursed, as she looked for a cake. She saw every other kind, except for the one she wanted.

Of course, she thought.

She sighed, almost ready to give up.

* * *

"James, could you just hurry up?" Ashley asked her older brother. She was starting to get impatient with him, but didn't know if it was these pregnancy hormones or if her brother was really standing in the cake mix aisle, staring at the red boxes like it was his job.

He had told her everything that had happened to Brylee, including how they went out for coffee on Monday and talked about her birthday. He told her how he wanted to do something nice for her since her birthday was coming up soon, and he had the perfect plan.

But these fucking cake mixes were driving him off the wall! He didn't know which one to get, and he was starting to get frustrated. He told his sister he'd only be a minute, but that was practically half an hour ago, and his pregnant sister had enough of it.

"Ash, which one? Extra fluffy or moist?" James asked, holding up the two boxes.

"I don't know James," the younger women said, sighing. She was only a month and a half pregnant, but was already experiencing a lot of the side effects to pregnancy.

"Which one do you think she'll like better?" he asked now. Ashley groaned, then took the two boxes out of her brother's hand and threw them into the green basket.

"Let's go," she said, turning on her heel.

"You can't just buy both!" he said, following behind her.

"No, but _you _can. You're paying," she said, and James laughed.

"Where are we going?" he asked when Ashley headed toward bakery section.

"I could really eat a donut," she said. "So that's where I'm going."

Ashley walked over to the bakery section, and saw Brylee there, looking down at a white box, squinting at a label. She reached blindly behind her and hit James' chest, and her brother looked at her.

"What?" he asked. Ashley smiled, then nodded toward Brylee. James grinned, then brushed past his sister.

Brylee was looking at a chocolate cake, contemplating if she should just get that instead. She really wanted red velvet, but they didn't have any, and she most definitely wasn't in the mood to make one. She saw a figure walking in her direction out of the corner of her eye, then glanced up and realized it was James.

She felt herself smile, and she gave him a small wave. "Hey."

"Hey," he said, smiling right back. How could you not when a smile that gorgeous was just for you? James looked back at his sister, and she walked up to his side. "You remember Ashley, right?"

"Of course!" Brylee said, hiking her bag higher up on her shoulder. "How have you been?"

"Really good," she said. "You?"

"Things are starting to look better," Brylee answered, grinning. She stole a glance at James.

"Well that's good," she said, nudging James with her elbow. She knew Brylee was talking about seeing James again, and she could tell by the look on the older women's face. Girls just knew.

And Ashley knew that Brylee was starting to fall for her brother again. And she couldn't be happier about it.

"Well, I'm gonna go get some donuts, and leave you kids to chat," Ashley said, smiling, then left the two alone.

"So, um…" James trailed off, not completely sure how to word this. "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

Brylee shook her head slightly, looking a little embarrassed. "No."

"Do you wanna…hang out?" The brunette women grinned, barely able to contain herself. Someone actually wanted to be with her on her birthday!

"Well, you know that it _is _my birthday," she said, sticking her hands in her coat pockets and trying to muster up her cutest look.

James nodded, laughing a little. "I know. I figured that maybe you'd want to do something."

"I'd really like that."

"Awesome." He smiled. "I'll come over around four thirty?"

"That's fine," Brylee said.

"Oh, and don't buy that cake."

"Why?"

"Just trust me."

She looked at him for a moment, and wondered what was going on in that pretty little mind of his. "Alright."

"James?" Ashley said, and her brother looked over at her. "Will you buy me a box of these?" She already had one in her hand, looking half-filled so far and James smiled.

"Sure," he said.

"What does your sister need an entire box of donuts for?" Brylee asked, walking around the table to the side James was on.

"Well, I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you or not," James said as they walked over to his sister. He didn't want to cross any boundaries and tell people, because he knew that his mom didn't know yet.

"James didn't tell you?" Ashley asked, turning around to look at them. Brylee shook her head. James hadn't told her anything about Ashley. "Oh. Well I'm pregnant. Explains a lot, doesn't it?"

"Oh my gosh, congratulations!" Brylee said, giving the shorter girl a hug. "That's great!"

Ashley beamed. "Thank you. That really means a lot."

James' younger sister turned and walked toward the checkout, a smile on her face, and she knew her brother had found the one.

* * *

When Brylee got home half an hour later, the sky was black, and the snow was coming down heavily now, blowing her hair around her face as she walked to the front door. She shivered as she dug through her bag for her keys, then pulled them out and unlocked the door.

She closed the door quietly behind her, then flipped the light on and dropped her bag, letting it fall to the floor, before pulling her coat off and hanging it up. She sighed contently as she headed up the stairs, feeling a little warmth inside her as she thought of James' words.

Whoever said that California changed him was a liar. He still talked to her the same way, her voice sincere no matter what he was saying, meaning every word he said. She wondered if the other things had stayed the same.

Like if his hands still felt the same, taut but slightly calloused on the fingertips from playing guitar. Or if his lips felt the same, so smooth and soft.

She could only hope she'd be able to figure it out.


	15. Presents and Good News

**Lovely readers, you are in for such a treat :) this is by far the longest chapter, and I hope to make the rest around this long. We are DEFINITELY very close to big events happening in the story, and I'm SO excited!**

**REVIEW!**

**References to Poe, Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson and William Carlos Williams, all of whom I do not own. (P.S. if you don't know of William's work, Google him because he has some very unique poems and styles!)**

**And yeah, I know. It's like freaking early. Or late. Depending where you are. For me, early. More specifically 1.12 AM. GOODNIGHT! I can finally go to bed knowing this chapter is complete :)**

When James woke up the next morning, he had a smile on his face. It was Saturday, and he was going to go visit his dad, then he was going over to Brylee's house for her birthday. And he had great plans. He had a great feeling about today, about everything that was going to happen today. There was just a part of him that felt like sixteen year old him again. He felt young and refreshed- something he hadn't in a long time.

He got up and pulled his t-shirt off as he walked to the bathroom, and let it fall to the floor in the pile with the rest of his dirty clothes. He turned on the shower, then took off his sweatpants before stepping onto the tile and letting the warmth take over him.

Brylee woke up, and the warm blankets surrounded her, creating this perfect cocoon for staying in bed all day. And that was her plan, well, until James got here, that was. She was going to go make herself some white hot chocolate, then come back up here and get under the covers and watch whatever movies were on TV today.

The brunette rolled over and picked up her phone off her bedside table, half expecting to have a text from James, but the screen was just her background, a picture of her and Lucy from late last night when she had gone to visit.

Her friend was doing a lot better now, and would probably be out of the hospital in a few days, which still let Christmas vacation open to go somewhere warm and bask in the sunlight and drink daiquiris and look like somebody's.

* * *

Last night, Lucy had given Brylee some presents and the girls gossiped and giggled, just like they had done for years before. They were sitting in her room, eating some cake that was there when Brylee showed up, just talking. She had to admit, her best friend could still get whatever she wanted, even with her being in the hospital. Then Lucy smiled, and got a bag off of the floor, and Brylee raised an eyebrow.

"You know," she said, crossing her legs, "I still don't know how you do this."

"Do what?" Lucy asked, pretending to be confused.

"Get all of this stuff, when you haven't even been out of the hospital for weeks."

"Oh, these presents I've had for months, but the cake? I've got my connections." She winked at her friend and made this face, and Brylee immediately knew she was talking about "Dr. Joe," as she liked to call him. She was pretty sure patient-doctor relationships were illegal or something, but she didn't think it was weird. Joe was only three or four years older than Lucy, which put him in his late twenties.

"Right," Brylee said, taking the large, pink bag her friend was handing over to her. Lucy rolled her eyes, and her brunette friend made a face. Then they broke out into giggles, and they kind of felt like they were high or something. Everything just felt so right, and Brylee had no thoughts about Jake or what he would say, or maybe do, when he returned.

The younger girl set the bag on the floor in front of her, then pulled out a wad of pink tissue paper, only to find a wrapped gift inside. She sighed, and Lucy smiled, then Brylee opened it to see the entire collection of William Carlos Williams poems.

"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!" she said, flipping through the thick book. She had taken a liking for the poet and his odd writing type back in the beginning of college when she had to take a poetry course. She had wanted an entire collection for years, to add to the ones she had for Shakespeare and Poe, and now she could. The only one she needed now was Emily Dickinson.

"I try," Lucy said, shrugging. The girl smiled again, then put the book down, despite how she wanted to start reading it now. There was something about poetry you couldn't get from short stories, like you could assume anything from the poem, unlike the strict lines of a story.

Brylee pulled out some more tissue paper to find something soft and quite lump. The woman made a face, then started tearing at the bright green wrapping paper. She was confused for a moment, then realized it was some sort of clothing. She took it in her hands, then picked it up by the straps, which were thin and white.

When she held it up, her mouth gaped, and Lucy giggled. "You bought me a nightie?" Brylee said, quickly putting the very short, very thin, piece of blue fabric down in her lap.

"Yeah," she said.

"You have not had this for months," her friend said incredulously, but the blonde nodded.

"I have. I was at the mall and saw it, and figured I'd get it for you so you could have something cute to wear to bed," she explained, and Brylee wasn't surprised. Lucy didn't go to bed in sweats and an old t-shirt. She wore silky pajamas from Victoria's Secret, long pants in the winter and short shorts in the summer. She even had a robe that matched. She was quite ridiculous, but the brunette had to love her. "But now that James is in town, you can put it to good use."

Brylee glared at her, and her older friend held in laughter. She had no intention of using something like…_a nightie, _a very s_hort _nightie to get James back. She had no interest in getting hot and heavy in between the sheets anytime soon. Just because she wanted a relationship with him again doesn't mean she wanted to have sex with him. But, it had been so long since Brylee actually enjoyed herself in bed, the last time being with James. But no, despite how much she wanted to, shall she say, seduce him, that would not be the thing to do in this situation.

"Don't push the idea away yet, Bry," Lucy said, trying to sound convincing. It had been so long since her dearest friend had been truly back, and she could see a little bit of spark, a little bit of liveliness come back since James had shown up again.

You couldn't ignore that sign, you really couldn't. Something was meant to happen between the two of them, Lucy knew it for sure.

"Alright," Brylee said, then was about to put the two things back into the bag when Lucy said there was one more thing in there. She dug around for a moment until she felt something on her fingers, and she picked it up.

Sitting in her hand was a little tiny, perfect foil square. "Lucy," Brylee sighed. "What the hell is this?" she asked, even though she knew damn well what it was.

Her friend snickered. "It's a condom," she said.

"And why was this necessary to put in my gift bag?"

"Because you may need it. I got it the other day."

"From where?" the brunette asked, shocked that she actually _asked _someone for it.

"We're in a hospital," she said, gesturing around. Brylee's eyes widened as she thought about whom exactly could've given her this.

"You didn't ask doctor-"

"Hell no! Why would I ask Dr. Watson about that?"

"Don't even get me started on naming the reasons," Brylee said darkly, and her ill friend sighed.

"I got it from one of the nurses. I didn't tell her who you were or anything. I just said I needed one for a friend."

"You make things so awkward."

"True. But now if you _do _get James in your bed, you won't get pregnant," Lucy said brightly, and Brylee buried her face in her hands, trying to hide the blush on her face.

* * *

Brylee got out of bed, then headed downstairs to the kitchen. She got out a large mug from the cabinet, then turned on her fancy coffee machine and waited for the water to get hot. In the meantime, she warmed up some pasta dish leftovers in the microwave. Yeah, it might be an odd combination, but she loved the two things, and it was her birthday. She should be able to do what she wants. And no one was here to judge her, so it was the perfect opportunity.

James was dressed and out the door with Ashley ten minutes ago, and they had just gotten to the hospital, and they were talking about what James was going to do for Brylee's birthday.

"Did you get her a present?" Ashley asked as they walked through the parking lot, their shoes crunching random bits of snow on the ground. It had snowed plenty last night, and the thick clouds that hung overhead were a sign it was going to do it again. James smiled, remembering how much Brylee adored the snow, especially when it fell a lot on her birthday.

James nodded, actually quite proud of his gift. He had found Lucy in the hospital, and asked her if there was anything Brylee had really been wanting, and she had told him what she had been wanting for a while now.

"I got her the entire collection of Emily Dickinson poems," he said, feeling rather smart for just saying her name. He had taken a quick glance at a few poems after he had bought it last night, and he wouldn't be the first to admit he didn't know what the fuck this lady was talking about.

But that's how he knew Brylee would understand. She was brilliant, and understood anything she put her mind to.

He had also gotten her a few other things, but they weren't very important

"I'm impressed, James," Ashley said as they went to check in and get guest tags.

"Hey, I'll do anything for her," he said, but didn't mean to say quite _that. _Although it was true, he hadn't said anything like that out loud for years, but it felt right.

The shorter girl grinned and nodded, and they headed up to their Dad's room, excited to see him today.

They were chatting and laughing on the way up to the room, and they had stepped off the elevator with smiles on their faces, something they hadn't truly done in a while. They walked down the hall, past the ICU desk, and turned right to go to their Dad's room. They were halfway there, halfway to the door, when they saw Logan coming the other way.

He smiled and hurried his pace to meet them right before their father's old room. "He woke up," was all he said, and the siblings exchanged a look of surprised, happiness and utter incredulousness.

"What?" Ashley asked. Logan nodded.

"Early this morning he woke up, and although he's still pretty weak, they moved him to the recovery unit."

"That's fantastic!" James said, smiling brightly. Now he could really tell his dad about Brylee, really tell him how he felt now.

Logan smiled. "I know. You can go see him. It's one level up, his room is 1678." James clapped a hand on his shorter friend's shoulder, then said a quick goodbye before going to see his Dad.

* * *

Brylee spent all day in her bed, drinking hot chocolate and watching cliché romance movies on Lifetime, until she glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost four fifteen. She cursed at herself for being a sucker for a movie, and how she almost lost track of time completely, and James would show up and she'd be in her pajamas.

She hopped out of bed, and then made it quickly, pulling the sheets and comforter tightly, before heading into her closet in search of something to wear. Did she want to wear a short skirt with leggings, to make James drool, or did she want to wear a low cut sweater to make him stare?

_Stop it_, Brylee, she scolded herself.

She found a pair of clean, dark washed jeans, and a red sweater that showed a little bit of cleavage. Why the hell not? It _was_ her birthday. There was a sudden knock on the door, and her eyes widened.

"Shit," she mumbled. How did she lose track of time that badly, to waste ten minutes looking at her clothes to try and impress James? "Be right there!" she called loudly, hoping James would hear.

Outside on the porch, James stood in the chilly air, coat and scarf wrapped tightly around him, as he held a bag in one hand, a box in the other. He had spent as long as he could with his dad, catching up and filling him in on what had been happening. Their mom, Ruth, showed up when they were about to leave, and she was ecstatic to have her husband back.

He smiled, realizing now how fantastic his parent's relationship really was. He wanted that. He wanted to know that someone was always thinking about him, and if anything bad happened to him, they'd be at his bedside every possible moment they could. He liked to think he had that with Brylee all those years ago, and he would admit he wanted that now, forever. He wanted to feel loved.

After quickly throwing on her new, clean clothes and running a brush through her hair, Brylee threw her dirty clothes into her closet, then ran down the stairs to get the door. She walked over to it, and opened it, to reveal a gorgeous James, in a black coat and scarf. He held a small bag in his right hand and a white box in his left. He smiled at her.

"Hi," she said, sounding out of breath. She smiled back at him.

"Hi," he said, just standing there. It was only then Brylee realized she had been blocking to doorway.

"Oh," she laughed, stepping aside. "Sorry about that. Come in."

James laughed. "It's fine." He stepped into her warm house, then slid off his shoes and followed her into the kitchen.

He set the two things down on her counter, and noticed a pink bag sitting on the further island stool. He smiled, knowing it was the book Lucy had bought for her friend. The man pulled off his coat and scarf, then draped them over the chair.

"Happy birthday."

Brylee smiled. And happy she was.


	16. Just One

**My lovely, dear readers, it's been too long. I've missed you guys! I'm really excited for this chapter, because things are actually starting to happen now. Haha. **

**Also! A big shout out to everyone who's been reviewing on One Night! We broke 100 reviews in the last chapter which is completely AWESOME! We're actually at 101. So, if you read that story and you're also reading this, THANK YOU. *Virtual Hugs!***

**Do you think we could break 60 reviews for this one? Do you love me enough? Maybe?**

**Anyway! Please enjoy this chapter, and like always, if you have requests for one-shots or anything, don't be afraid :) You can even leave an anonymous review, although I won't be able to talk to you about it. But hey, it's up to you. **

**Love!**

To be honest, Brylee couldn't really believe that James was here, in her kitchen, and that he had actually brought her stuff. She didn't know what, but he had a bag and a white box. She remembered what had happened the last time James was around for her birthday, and part of her wanted that. She wanted to cuddle on the couch, and have him give her compliments, and make love in front of the fireplace.

_Whoa_, she thought. _I don't know about that last one._

"So," James said, breaking her out of her thoughts. "What have you been up to all day?"

Brylee missed even this. Having a conversation with someone that actually cared about her. Someone who could tell her that everything would be fine, and she had nothing to worry about. Or maybe she was getting ahead of herself. Maybe James wouldn't do any of that anymore.

For all she knows, he could really be an inconsiderate douche now. He admitted to her that in LA he had slept around, so who knows what else is different.

"Nothing much," Brylee said, walking over to the cabinet next to the refrigerator and opening it. "I sat around and drank hot chocolate and watched movies."

She heard James chuckle, then he said "I bet you're glad that it snowed." The woman smiled to herself as she pulled out to glasses.

Maybe he did remember things about her. Because she sure did love it when it snowed on her birthday.

"Yeah," she said, laughing a little. She set the two glasses down on the island, then got a bottle of wine and an opener. "Do you want some?" she asked James, who took a few steps closer.

"Yeah, sure," he said. Brylee poured them both a glass, then handed one to James, their hands brushing against each other for a moment. She felt a heat surge through her body, and she headed into the living room, James following close behind.

They sat down on the couch, and they both stayed quiet for a moment, just enjoying the company of the other person there. Yeah, it was a little awkward, too, but they were both lost in their thoughts.

"How was your day?" Brylee asked James, and then suddenly it was like she was in an entirely different situation. She felt like a housewife or something, saying a line like that. She didn't know why, but she did, and she felt like she was married to the man sitting on her couch. She shook her head, telling herself to stop acting like such a teen, and distracted herself by taking a sip of her wine.

"It was really good," James answered, a small smile on his face. "Ashley and I went to go visit my dad, and get this, he woke up."

Brylee felt herself smile, for seeing James happy. She knew he had been stressed about his dad being in the hospital, and being unconscious for the past few weeks, and she was honestly happy too.

Back when she was a teenager, James' parents were pretty much her parents. They took her in whenever she needed someone to talk to, they let her come on vacations, they gave her advice. And James' dad, John, was especially supportive of Brylee and James' relationship.

But that also meant he got mad at her, seeing as she was like family. And there was specifically one time where things were awkward between the three of them.

* * *

It was a few months before James left for LA, and Brylee was over one Saturday night, and she and James were alone.

They were up in his room, which his parents were fine with, but his door was closed, which was not okay. The only rules Ruth and John had set for the couple was that James' bedroom door stayed open when they were in there together, and that when Ashley, Jeremy or themselves were around, they'd keep the PDA to a minimum.

The two teens did fine with the rules, but then the first one became harder and harder for them as their physical relationship got better. They had to seriously contain themselves from ripping the other one's clothes off and have sex right there, with the door wide open and everyone else down in the kitchen.

But one night, they thought they were alone, and they were up in his room, the door shut tight. They were in his bed, under the covers, clothes strewn around the room, and James was sucking at the pale skin on her neck, and she was breathing heavily. Brylee had moaned his name softly as he bit at her skin, and her hand was traveling slowly down south when the door flew open, John in the middle of a sentence.

He thought James was alone, but he was clearly wrong when he was met with the sight of James and his girlfriend in his bed. He and Ruth were hoping they weren't doing something so intimate, but it was clear now that they were.

James yelped, and Brylee blushed a deep red and pulled the blankets up to her neck and looked away from John. "Get dressed please, then meet me downstairs in the living room," he said, then turned and walked down the stairs.

Brylee was convinced James' parents were going to hate her now, and they were never going to let her come over anymore. The pair got dressed, then went down to the living room and sat on the couch while they waited for John and Ruth.

When it was finally time to talk to the teens, James' parents had the usual talk, if they were being safe and everything like that. The pair had never blushed so much in their entire life, after having to answer questions like how long had this been going on and how often it happened.

At the end of the night, James' parents were calm and rational about it, and told them nothing like this would be going on when anyone was home. They told them they weren't going to make them stop, because they couldn't, but that they had to make sure they were alone because the last thing they needed was Ashley and Jeremy witnessing something like that.

* * *

Brylee pushed those thoughts out of her mind, and focused her attention back to what James was saying about his dad.

"That's great," she said. "I'll have to visit him."

James felt a smile play at his features, because he thought after everything he did to this woman that she'd never want to speak to him again, much less talk to his father. "Yeah, for sure. He'll be coming home tomorrow afternoon."

"I'll have to make something for him and your mom," Brylee said, taking another sip of her wine.

"They'd really like to see you," the taller man said, and he was sure they would. They adored Brylee.

"I'd like to see them too," she admitted softly.

James set his glass down on the table, then looked at Brylee for a moment, and got caught up with her looks. Her long brown hair fell over her shoulders, her eyes dark and peaceful, and her skin smooth and flawless. She wore a red sweater that showed off just the right amount of cleavage that was enough to drive the man off the wall. She also wore a pair of dark jeans that hugged her waist and rested right below her belly button.

"I think now is a proper time to give you your presents," James announced, standing up in front of her.

"James, you didn't have to get me anything," Brylee said, looking back as he walked into the kitchen and got the box and bag that sat on the island.

"It was the least I could do," he said, and then held himself back from saying _for putting you through all that shit eight years ago_, but he kept his mouth shut as he sat back down next to her.

She put her glass on the coffee table next to James' and then set the back he gave her on the floor in front of her. She pulled the tissue paper out of the bag, then picked up a thick book.

"How'd you know?" Brylee asked, staring at the book of Emily Dickenson poems in her hands.

"I've got my connections," James said, and Brylee laughed, because that was the same thing Lucy had said last night.

The only other thing in the bag was a rectangular box, and she picked it up and opened it to see a gorgeous white gold bracelet that had a few little diamonds hanging from it.

"James, this is beautiful!" Brylee said, taking the thin bracelet in her hands and feeling the cool metal on her skin.

"I'm glad you like it," he told her.

"I love it," she said, setting it down on the table to hug him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his arms went to her back.

His fingers touched the skin of her back where her sweater had ridden up slightly, and she breathed in the scent of her hair. Brylee, on the other hand, liked being back in James' strong arms. She liked the way his body felt so close to hers.

When James pulled away, the pair just stared at each other for a moment, their eyes boring into the others, and it was like nothing bad had ever happened between them. The love was still there, the passion was still there.

James pushed a curl out of her face and behind her ear, his fingers running down the length of it, to wear it ended next to her chest. Brylee could hardly breathe, with James being so, so close to her.

Then he leaned in, his hand in her hair now, and she forgot what she was supposed to do for a moment. James hesitated halfway for a moment, but then just went for it.

And he kissed her.

It wasn't this passion filled, hard kiss, but it took their breath away. Brylee closed her eyes and James pulled her a little bit closer as his lips moved against hers. It was just like how he remembered it, her lips still soft and fitting perfectly between his. They stayed like that, just kissing, mouths moving together, for a few moments.

And then Brylee realized something.

She shouldn't be doing this.

But then a part of her said "Just one. Just one kiss."

And despite how much she wanted to pull away and not surrender to him again, her heart was telling her otherwise.

**DUN DUN DUN! I did it again because I'm a mean person. But seriously, the next chapter will not disappoint.**

**REVIEW!**


	17. I Wanna Love You

**Loves, I hope you like this chapter, it's mild M, and the next chapter will be a little more M. So, enjoy this, because I was supposed to have it up by Wednesday but some stuff came up and blah.**

** Also! There's a new chapter of One Night, chapter 24, which IS AN ACTUAL CHAPTER so go read and review!**

** And review this too!**

Kissing James was, in one word, amazing. His lips were soft and smooth, thanks to his obsession with chap stick. If it wasn't for that, his lips would probably be chapped and disgusting, since he was always at the beach.

Brylee felt sixteen again, kissing James and being this close to him. Although she couldn't ever forget what it felt like being physical with him.

But, she knew she shouldn't be doing this, or have this feeling deep down in her stomach. She put her hand on his chest, and gently parted from him, and he gave her a confused look.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I shouldn't be doing this," she said, and when she licked her lips, she could taste James on them.

James just stared at her. He knew deep down he shouldn't have kissed her. But hell, he needed her back. He really, really did. He needed her back in his arms. He wanted to hold her and love her and never let anything bad happen again.

"Bry, I promise I'll never hurt you again. I'll stay here-"

"That's not it, James," Brylee said softly. She knew there was no way of getting out of telling James about Jake now. The inevitable subject finally had nowhere else to be pushed to. She had to tell him now. "I fucked up, you know that."

"Yeah, but what about?" he asked gently. The woman ran her hands through her hair and sighed shakily, leaning back on the couch.

"Agreeing to get together with Jake," she admitted, looking up to the ceiling.

James knew it. He knew from the moment Ashley told him about them together that something wasn't right. And he'd been picking up on little things since their meeting at the hospital. That sick bastard.

"Bry, has he ever…hurt you?"

Brylee blinked back tears, and James moved a little closer to her again. She shook her head. "He hasn't hurt me physically. But emotionally and mentally? Yeah, all the time."

"Bry, I'm so sorry," the tall man said, pulling the fragile brunette into his arms. She didn't try to squirm away, instead leaning into him and burying her face in his chest. "I should've been here with you."

"Don't say that," she said, crying. She looked up to him through tears. "That was an amazing opportunity, James. It was your dream. And look at you, you're happy."

"I'm only happy because I'm here with you," he said, rubbing her shoulder gently.

"But-but you have fame and money and-"

"Brylee, that doesn't make me happy," James said, his hand under her chin so she could look at him. "_You _make me happy. You always have."

The woman blushed, and James wiped her tears away. "And no one's loved me like you did," she said.

"So, does that mean that you'll- give me another chance?" the browned haired man said. Brylee pulled away from him, and put her hand around his neck. She played with the hair at the nape of his neck, and James just watched her.

She had been waiting for this, _this _exact moment since the day James left. For a new start for the two of them; this time things would be different. They were older, more mature; they could handle things on their own now, and do what they wanted. It would be perfect.

"Of course I will," was all Brylee said before she kissed James again, and his hands went to rest on her waist.

She knew that things with Jake could be put to an end now, and that James could help her, help her to heal from what she had been through. He could help her have a new beginning, a new happiness, something she hadn't gotten in so long.

Brylee wrapped her arms around James' neck, and he pulled her closer to him, biting at her lip. She grinned, then opened her mouth, and his tongue explored every inch it could reach, remembering everything. One of his hands went to her thigh, fingers trailing down the inside, and the brunette let out a soft moan into the man's mouth.

It had been so, so long since she had ever felt this much pleasure, and she knew where this was heading, and she didn't want it to stop. She wanted James to take her the way he did the first time, and kiss her skin and tell her she was beautiful and that he loved her. She needed it again.

James pulled away from the younger woman, their lips making a soft sound, and he trailed his finger back up her thigh. "Has he ever made love to you?" he asked, his voice soft.

Brylee shook her head and looked down. "He just used me. He left bruises sometimes," she admitted, but didn't consider that to be abuse. He was always just rough on her.

"Bry," James said, stroking her cheek with his free hand. She looked up and he grinned sadly at her. "He didn't deserve you."

The brown haired woman stared at James for a moment, and melted at his words. She honestly wanted to cry because of that, because of the sweet, heartfelt words that were coming out of his mouth. She looked down, and his hand intertwined in hers.

"Let me make love to you," James whispered.

He needed to, even if it was just one last time. He needed to be with her in an intimate way, to have her beneath him and her breath heavy as she moaned his name. _God, _he needed that again.

Brylee stood up, her hand still in the taller man's, and looked back at him confidently. He smiled, then stood up too, and she slowly walked through the living room and kitchen until she reached the front hall when James stopped her from walking. They shared a smoldering gaze before he pushed her up against the wall at the bottom of the stairs, and kissed her again.

This time he held nothing back, letting every desire from the past eight years melt into her mouth. Her arms were wrapped around his neck, and one of his hands was tangled in her hair, the other lifting her thigh to grope at her ass. James groaned against her lips, pressing his hips further into hers, and she smirked.

Then there was a click, and everything became silent. The pair pulled apart from each other, and looked around for a moment before realizing the power had gone out. The hum of the refrigerator and heater were both gone now, and it felt slightly eerie. But so perfect.

Brylee and James shared a look before she grabbed his hand and headed up the stairs. They went into her bedroom, and she went to her bathroom to get some candles. James stood in her bedroom, eager as hell, and he could make out the shape of the brunette as she came out of the bathroom.

She put a few large candles on the dresser, then grabbed the matches that sat in the wax of one of them and lit them. She set one on the bedside table, glancing at James as she did so. He just stared at her intently, and she smiled softly.

The room was bathed in yellow light, and James stood by the bed, waiting for Brylee to return. She walked up to him, and he took her hands in his. "Bry, I've waited to see you again for eight years. And I've waited for you to talk to me for eight years. And I've waited for you to kiss me again. And now this. I've waited for eight years to make love to you again."

He poured his heart out to her, just so she would know the truth about what he felt right now. "And I've spent every day wondering when you would come back for me," Brylee said softly.

"I'm back," James said, laughing a little. "And I'm never leaving you again."

He closed the space between them, his hands going to her hips now, and he kissed her like he had downstairs, and she slid her hands around his neck. There wasn't any speak of what they were about to do, because their actions toward each other were enough to know the feeling of wanting that level of pleasure was mutual.

James' tanned hands slid underneath the red sweater Brylee wore, and she shivered as his skin made contact with hers. He slowly moved his hands up, over her flat stomach, then over the curve of her breasts before they parted for a moment so he could lift it over her head.

They shared another look, and she smirked at him. "You surprised I still look the way I did when I was sixteen?" she asked.

James smiled and shook his head. "You still look hot," was what came out of his mouth instead of what he was thinking.

"I try," she said, lifting up the shirt that James wore. Once he was completely shirtless, she was surprised at what she saw.

When James left, he was already muscular, already more than the other guys around. But now? He was full on ripped. His pecs were defined, and you could clearly make out six pack abs. The veins in his arms could be seen as he wrapped his arms around her waist and turned them one hundred and eighty degrees so her back was to the bed now.

"Damn," Brylee heard herself say. "What have you been doing?"

She ran a hand up his bicep, then over a pec and down his abs. And then her thoughts got away from her, and she wanted to do dirty, _dirty _things to him.

"Just working out," he said. "I'm kind of obsessed with it."

"I'm not complaining," she said, and then James kissed her again. He pushed her back onto the bed without breaking his lips away from hers, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

He moved down to her neck, his lips ravishing at her skin, sucking harshly as she slid her hands to his waist. She moaned softly, and she could feel James' bulge through his jeans, pressing at her thigh. His hands traveled up her back to her bra, and he unclasped it then pulled the fabric from her shoulders. He ran his hands over her chest, grazing over her breasts and their sensitive buds, and Brylee jerked her hips up.

She moved her hands to James' jeans, and fiddled with the button for a moment before it came open, and she pushed them down as far as she could reach before he kicked them off.

"You're so gorgeous," he muttered as his mouth moved between her breasts and down her stomach. She felt her cheeks heat up, but that wasn't the only thing. Her jeans felt tighter than they should've, her skin seeming to burn under them.

He reached her jeans, and he sat up slightly, running his finger across the top of them, where fabric met skin. "Are you sure you want to do this?" James asked softly, just double checking.

He didn't want to push any limits with her.

The brunette nodded, and looked into his hazel eyes, which were shining from the candlelight. "I want to do this, James. I need you."

He nodded, and pressed a kiss to her lips again as he unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them down, revealing a pair of pink lacy panties.

"I never would've guessed you'd wear _lingerie_," James said , grinning as he threw her jeans to the floor.

"Why?" Brylee asked, moaning as he ran his fingers down her thigh.

"Because you're innocent," he said. The brunette rolled her eyes.

"You know damn well I'm not innocent."

James laughed out loud, then gasped as she palmed him through his boxer briefs. "Jesus," he breathed as she kept at it. He had to stop her or this would be over before it even began.

"How innocent am I now?" she asked, smirking.

"Br-Bry, stop," James stuttered, pushing the brunette's hand away.

"Why?" she asked again for the second time in two minutes.

"I wanna make you feel good," he whispered in her ear, _exactly like he did eight years ago_. "There's another time for me."

Brylee swallowed and nodded, and he ran his finger across the hem of her panties, and she sighed, her eyes closing.

"You know I never stopped," he said, kissing her the tip of her hip.

The brunette swallowed again, to make sure she could actually speak. "Stop what?" she asked softly as James' lips traveled over her panties briefly, then down her thigh.

He looked up at her, and her eyes met his. "Loving you."

They were simple words, but they held a lot of meaning. Part of the brunette wanted to cry, because she honestly never thought she'd be truly loved again.

But now she was starting to think differently.


	18. Being Honest

**My babes! How is everyone doing? I know it's been a while, and I'm SO sorry. **

**But hopefully this will make up for it?**

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**By the way, this is kind of a filler, but there is some SERIOUS drama coming up. You will all be shocked :)**

To be honest, James didn't want to get out of bed. He wanted to lie here all day and watch the girl he loved. He wanted to cherish her and tell her she was beautiful and that he loved her. And that he was never going to leave her again. He was going to be with her forever.

It was around eight, and thankfully the sun wasn't out, probably since it was still snowing. The room was bathed in gray light; that overcast sky when it was raining or snow was falling.

James lay on his side, watching Brylee sleep quietly beside him. She was on her back, one arm over the blankets, and the other hidden under them. She wore James' t-shirt, and her hair was slightly disheveled. But she was still absolutely stunning. She didn't need make-up, and frankly, she didn't wear it often, which James liked.

James' phone suddenly rang, loudly, and he cursed under his breath, not even remembering turning the ringer on. He sat up, then picked up his jeans from the floor, then stuck his hands in all the pockets, not remembering where he put his phone. He finally got it out of his pocket, and by this time the screen said _Missed Call. _James unlocked his phone, then looked at who had called him. It was a number that looked familiar to him, but he didn't have the name with it. He figured it was one of the many girls he'd given his number to, on a napkin or a matchbook, but he never got theirs, because he never needed to call them.

He turned his phone off, not needing any other girl now, or really, anything else. He had everything he needed.

He set his phone down on the table beside the bed, then lay back down with a sigh. He glanced over and saw Brylee watching him adoringly.

He smiled at her. "Morning," he said softly, and she smiled back at him.

"Morning," she said back. "Who called you?"

James' heart picked up its pace for just a moment. Should he tell her the truth? If he wanted to truly be with her again, he should. She trusted him more than ever now. "I think it was some girl who I gave my number to."

Brylee looked away awkwardly, before sitting up, pulling the sheets with her. Had he lied to her last night? She should've known; he had all these girls waiting in the wings for him. "Oh," was all she said.

"Bry, it's not what you think," James explained, moving closer to her as he sat up. "I don't care about them anymore. It's you."

The brunette looked over at him, and she was genuinely glad that he didn't want those double zero models who never ate anything. He wanted her. The girl he'd lost his virginity to, the girl who wasn't afraid to be honest with him.

The girl who still loved him.

Brylee nodded, hating herself for her quick overreaction of something so measly. "Sorry," she whispered.

James grinned, then kissed her bare shoulder, his lips barely touching her skin. "It's alright," he said, and she shuddered as she felt his warm breath caressing her skin. He gently pushed her onto her back, then lay down with her, pulling the sheets with him.

He kissed her by the ear, then down her jaw and to her neck. "Did you enjoy yourself last night?" he asked her, hands moving down her body and lips moving across her skin.

"Of course I did," she said, her eyes closed. She didn't think it could've gotten much better than last night, but James was proving her wrong right now.

The only thing that could be better than I-haven't-seen-you-in-eight-years-sex was morning sex, right? Right. Or at least that's what she thought now.

"I'm glad," he said softly, moving his lips to kiss hers. One of his hands tangled in her hair, holding her face closer, and she grasped his bicep. James sucked on her lower lip as he kissed her deeper, not able to hold himself back.

He just wanted more, more than just what he got last night. And he didn't really know how to ask her for it anymore. Who knows if she'd answer the same way she did when they were seventeen? He didn't want to make things awkward between them.

"Mm," she said as he pulled away, her eyes still half closed from pure bliss. "Did you enjoy _yourself _last night?"

Now Brylee was smirking, because she knew James did like what she gave him. It was better than when it was when they were younger, and the fact that they still loved each other gave it another element of perfection.

"Of course I did," James said, mocking her earlier words. "I didn't think you could've gotten better than you were before, but damn, I was proven wrong."

The brunette laughed a little, then kissed him again. "I was expecting that," she said, pretending to be cocky about it.

"Oh, I'm sure you were," he said, smiling at the beautiful girl beneath him. Brylee rolled her eyes at him, then pushed him off gently before she sat up and picked up her panties off the floor. She pulled them on, then picked up James' shirt that sat there on the carpet and put the fabric over her head.

Then she stood up, the shirt falling to her thighs, and she walked to her bathroom, because she knew she had to brush her hair right now. It was all disheveled not just from sleep but from sex, and everyone knew that sex hair was just not flattering.

Unless your name was James Diamond.

Because that, that was fucking sexy.

"Calm yourself down, Brylee," she muttered to herself as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. She brushed her hair, to get all the knots out, and when she looked half decent, she flipped the light off, just then was when she noticed the power was back on, then headed back into the bedroom.

She caught a glimpse of James leaving the room, and she raised an eyebrow, then headed for the door. She walked down the stairs, and when she got into the kitchen, she saw James turning on her coffee pot, only wearing a pair of purple boxer briefs.

Dear God, Brylee thought.

She remembered he didn't use to wear those, he actually wore boxers back in the day, but now he was wearing those tight, shorter, boxer-things? Jesus, it was a little too much to handle this earlier. And damn, were they tight.

"Making coffee and walking around in your underwear?" Brylee said, walking over to the island. "What, do you think you live here?"

James laughed a little, then went over to the brunette and pushed her hips up against the granite countertop, hands resting on her waist. "Can I tell you two things?" he asked her, suddenly looking serious.

Brylee swallowed, and looked into his clear, hazel eyes before nodding. "Of course," she said.

"I don't think you understand how hard the first week away from you was," he started, his voice soft. "And then I realized I'd be in LA for a while, and you'd just be here, sitting around waiting for me to come back. And you deserved better than that."

"James-" Brylee whispered, but he shushed her gently.

"But then, then I cut you lose, and I started sleeping with any girl who wouldn't get attached." Now he was starting to get choked up, his throat getting tighter. "And I'm a fucking horrible person for making you go through all that shit. And, god, Brylee-"

The brunette couldn't let herself just stand there and keep letting James rant on, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly, and his arms went around her waist. He held onto her for dear life, his face buried in her shoulder.

"And I love you so fucking much," he finally said.

"I love you so fucking much too," Brylee said.


	19. Dinner at James'

Brylee put her coat on and picked up her purse, beyond glad she didn't have to take any work home with her over the break. The past two days seemed to go by as slow as ever, and now that it was finally after school on Tuesday, she could go home and be with James.

After their rendezvous on Saturday night, James told the brunette he couldn't wait until he got to spend the holiday with her. He was over at her house on Sunday night, too, but she wouldn't let him take control, because frankly, she had to get up the next morning at six o'clock.

Brylee hadn't forgotten about Lucy, they actually talked yesterday, and the blonde was extremely happy at the things she'd been told, and told her best friend to spend Christmas with James. They always had next year.

The brunette headed down the hallway, waving goodbye to one of her co-workers, then she went out the door and was greeted by crisp, cold air. She pulled her coat tighter around her before pulling her phone out of her purse.

She found James' name under her contacts, then hit call and pressed the phone to her ear as she walked to her car.

James was at his parents' house, and he was up in his old bedroom, laid out on his bed. He'd spent the past two days with his dad, and he told her what had happened with Brylee, minus the sleeping with her part, because his father would've brought up what had happened years ago with her.

He had come up here about an hour ago, after he and his parents had gotten back from going to lunch, in hopes of taking a nap, but his body wouldn't let him rest. He was too anxious to spend the next week and a half with Brylee. He had made plans to surprise her with, and he just prayed she would accept them.

He lay on his bed with his arm over his eyes, breathing slowly and trying to fall into sleep, when his phone vibrated violently next to him. He picked it up with his free hand, then glanced at the screen, smiling when he saw who it was.

"Hi beautiful," he said, and he practically heard her blush over the phone.

"Hi," Brylee said, now at her car and pulling out her keys. "Am I going to see you tonight?" She was almost positive she would be seeing James tonight, but she knew he'd been spending a lot of time with his dad since he'd been released from the hospital, so she thought maybe he'd just want to hang out at home.

"Yes you will," James answered, sitting up a little, bracing himself on his elbow. "Would you want to come over here?"

He was hesitant, but his parents wanted to see the brunette beauty again, and she had told James the other day she wanted to see his parents again. Back when they were teenagers, Brylee basically lived at their house, and was always coming along on family vacations and going to relative's houses and things like that.

She was like a daughter to Ruth and John, and then when James left for LA, Brylee simply disappeared from their lives, too. At first, she spent a lot of time with Ashley and over at their house since she was always alone, but once James broke things off, she was gone. And frankly, they missed her, and her smiling face and the sweet things they did for her.

So, when James told them yesterday about how he'd seen Brylee a few times and the two "went on a date" on Saturday night, they were ecstatic. Good things James said date and not sex. They probably would've been extremely concerned as to how that even happened. But either way, it didn't matter.

James finally had Brylee back.

Or-wait. Did he? Were they "together" again?

He'd have to ask her this later.

"I'd love to," Brylee said, smiling as she got into her car. She threw her bag onto the passenger seat, then started her car and turned the heat on.

"Really?" James asked.

"Yeah," the brunette said. "What time?"

"Five?"

"Sure," she said. "Tell them I'll bring them something."

James grinned and chuckled. She never showed up empty handed. "I will. See you later."

"See you," she said softly. Then, with a grin, she hung up the phone and headed home.

James got up off his bed, leaving his phone behind, then headed out of the room, adjusting the long sleeved shirt he was wearing. "Mom?" he called once he got to the foyer.

"Yes, sweetie?" he heard her say back, and he walked into the kitchen. She had a bunch of food sitting out on the counter, and he figured she was in the midst of making either dinner and baking cookies, or something of the like.

"Brylee's going to come over later," he told her, picking up a grape from the platter of fruit that sat in front of him and popping it in his mouth.

"She is?" Ruth asked, putting the knife down next to her on the counter. She couldn't have been happier about this. She loved that girl so much.

James nodded, and his mother clasped her hands together and looked up to the heavens. "Oh, how much my heart is aching right now," she said and her son became embarrassed. She was being so dramatic about something so simple.

"She'll be here around five," James said and his mother smiled and nodded back to him. Her son turned to leave, but then she figured this would be the right time to have a little chat with him.

"James," she said, sternly but lovingly.

"Hmm?" he said, turning to face her again and coming over to her side of the counter.

"Don't take this for granted," Ruth said. "God sent her back to you and you back to her for a reason. She needs you."

James swallowed. It was so eerie to have his mother tell him that, after everything Brylee had told him about Jake and about wanting to get out from his grasp.

"I think I need her more than she needs me," James admitted, looking down at the hardwood floor beneath his feet.

"Just promise me that you'll be honest with her," she said now. "I want this to work out for you, James."

The tall brunette had to smile at his mother and how much she cared for the relationship he had with Brylee. "I will. I'm not going to mess up my second chance."

"Good," Ruth said, satisfied with herself and her son. "Now go take a shower and put on something nice."

James laughed and nodded, then started to leave until his mother pointedly cleared her throat at him. "Love you mom," he said, kissing her cheek.

"Love you too, sweetheart."

* * *

As Brylee drove to James' house at 4.50, she almost had trouble keeping her hands from shaking. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous. It wasn't like this was the first time she was meeting James' parents. She didn't think they hated her now or anything, but it _had _been eight years.

Something could've changed.

Once she got home, she went straight to her kitchen and made a batch of cookies to take with her to James' house. Then when they were cooling, she went upstairs and took a shower, then contemplated what the hell she should wear. After about twenty minutes of pondering, she decided a nice dress and stockings would be a good, safe choice.

Then she put on some make-up and curled her hair a little, not able to stop herself from dolling up a bit more than usual. She felt as though she had to make a good impression.

She pulled into his driveway, then grabbed her purse and the Christmas-y bowl she'd put the cookies in, then opened the door and stepped out into the cold. She took a deep breath as she walked up the few steps to the front door, then rang the doorbell.

She remembered when she was a teen, they always told her not to knock because no one would ever hear it. But then after a while of dating James, she could just walk in, the door was always unlocked, but now she couldn't do that.

She had manners.

"James, can you get that?" Ruth called from the kitchen, hoping James would hear her. She was finishing up making dinner, and John was sitting in the living room, still a bit weak from being in the hospital for a few good weeks, so she didn't want to bother him.

"I could've gotten it," John said from his place on the couch.

Ruth rolled her eyes. "You stay there," she said seriously, and James heard his parents talking as he came down the stairs, smiling at them.

He went over to the door, pulling on his button down, then opened it to see Brylee standing on the porch, the small, dim light making her face glow. She smiled at James, and he smiled back. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," she said, smiling up to him as he gestured for her to come in. He took the bowl from her, and she went over to the coat rack in the corner and slid off her pea coat. She hung it up, then hung her purse with it, then smoothed down the bottom of her dress. When she turned around, she caught James watching her.

He looked away and she laughed at him, taking her bowl back as she looked up to his beautiful face. "You look gorgeous," he said, wrapping an arm around her thin waist.

"It's not too much?" she asked.

She wore a black, long sleeved dress that was tight on the bottom, then there was another layer of fabric overtop that was see through. She also wore black lace stockings and a pair of black peep toe high heels.

"It's perfect," James assured her, then kissed her gently. He was second guessing himself before, not totally sure if he could just kiss her whenever, but when he felt her kiss him back, he knew he'd made the right choice.

He pulled away, then led her to the kitchen, a hand on the small of her back. "Mom," James said when they entered the room, and Ruth turned around from the stove. She gasped, then hurried over to the two of them, holding her arms out.

"Brylee!" she squealed, hugging the brunette. Brylee smiled, and hugged her back. "Oh my word, you're absolutely beautiful!"

"Thank you," she said, her face flushing. "I brought these for you and Mr. John." She wasn't totally sure if she was supposed to just call him John like she used to, but for now, she felt as though sticking mister in front of it would do.

"Oh, sweetheart, you didn't have to bring anything!" Ruth said, placing the bowl on the counter.

John appeared a moment later, and Brylee smiled at him. "Well look at you," he said, hugging her. She hugged him back, and closed her eyes for a moment at the realization that these two people were practically her parents.

Oh god, she was so close to sobbing right now.

"And no need to call me mister. Please don't. It makes me feel old," John added, smiling at the brunette.

"Got it," she said. "How have you been feeling?" she asked as an afterthought once Ruth went over to the stove to check on whatever was boiling.

"Pretty good," John said, sitting down at the island. "It's a little hard to stand for too long, but other than that, life is great."

He glanced at his son, who had his eyes focused on Brylee's face as she looked at John as he spoke to her. Then she looked over, and James grinned at her, checking her out a bit, and Brylee grinned back, blushing.

Oh yeah, John so knew what was going on between them.

"This isn't weird for you, is it?" James asked Brylee a few minutes later when they were up in his room. He just wanted to talk to her, and didn't want to do it downstairs, so he brought her up here.

"No, not at all," Brylee answered, touching the edge of his dresser. He sat on his bed, and she was looking around his room, where absolutely nothing had changed.

"I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable," he told her, leaning back on his hands.

"I could never," she said, turning to look at him. "I love your parents."

"They love you too."

She laughed a little, then went over and stood in front of him, before sighing. She played with his bangs, and he watched her adoringly, his hands resting on her thighs right below the bottom of her dress.

"I've missed them," Brylee admitted, looking down at James.

"I bet they have too. You were like a daughter to them."

She smiled, then leaned down and kissed him tenderly, her hands on his neck. He bit at her lip and she opened her mouth for him, giggling when she felt his hands moving up her thighs. He pulled her closer, his hands under her dress now and gripping her thighs, almost to the point of groping her ass, and she moaned softly against his mouth.

"Dinner's ready!" they heard Ruth yell from downstairs, and they pulled away from each other, their lips making a soft sound.

"We'll have to finish this later," James said, breathless and Brylee smirked.

"I guess you have a reason to come over now."


	20. Surprises

**HI HI! Sorry for the freaking long time without an update, but things have been out of control lately. I'll try and get an update of the other stories by the time break is over, but until then, enjoy!**

** I hope everyone had a good holiday, and I hope you'll have a great new year!**

** As always, follow me on Tumblr: jmazzabs**

** And Review :)**

After hugging James' parent's goodbye, Brylee and James decided to go over to her house for a while, James driving behind the brunette just in case he had to leave on short notice for some reason and didn't have to bother Brylee. He followed her up the steps to the front door, and watched her take her keys out of her purse. She stuck it in the keyhole, and James wrapped his arms around her as she turned the key. She laughed a little, and he kissed her cheek before she opened the door and stepped inside.

James shut and locked the door behind her, knowing how she liked the way of things, as she pulled off her coat and hung it up in the front closet, and she offered to take James', and he smiled and handed it to her. "So," Brylee said, sighing contently, "What do you wanna do?"

James smirked, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer, before pecking her lips, and she slid her arms around his neck. "Well, I think we've got some unfinished business," he told her softly, and she giggled, nodding her head.

"That we do," she said, leaning in to kiss him again, and he ducked his head down to meet her lips. He grabbed her thighs, then easily lifted her up, and she hooked her legs around his waist and he headed for the stairs. "Is this safe?" she asked after James started kissing her neck, and he was still walking up the stairs with ease.

"Probably not," James answered, stepping onto the landing at the top of the stairs and Brylee just giggled again as they went into her bedroom. He threw her down onto the bed after shutting the door, then kissed her lips, slowly and lovingly, while his hands traveled under her dress to the top of her thigh where her stockings began, and he slowly pulled one down, his fingers ghosting over her skin. He pulled away from her and sat up a little, kissing the point on her knee and on her calf as he took the fabric off her smooth leg. He repeated this same action with the other stocking, and then dropped them onto the floor before kissing the brunette's lips again.

Brylee began to unbutton the blue shirt James was wearing, smirking when she saw his muscles and she ran her fingers over his pecs and stomach after pushing the shirt off his toned shoulders. She still couldn't get over how much his body had changed, from slightly muscled to…whatever this might have been called. It was perfect, his muscles perfectly built, and he was amazingly strong. "Can I just tell you that I never thought I'd be doing this again with you?" James said, his hands going around to her back, where he unzipped her dress, before slowly starting to pull it from her shoulders.

"Did you ever think about it?" she asked softly as James let her dress fall to the floor, leaving her in a pair of lacy panties and a tan bra.

"Mmhmm," James hummed against the skin of her taut stomach. "I thought about it a lot."

Brylee bit her lip, at the thought of James being with her in this way, and how he was probably alone, and how he probably got off on the idea of it. She closed her eyes and let out a breath, which almost sounded like a muffled gasp, and the taller man looked up at her.

"You okay?" he asked and she nodded, her fingers tangling in his hair.

"Just thinking about you thinking about me like this," she told him now, and he laughed a little.

"And what do you think I did?" he asked her now and she ignored him for a moment as she worked at getting his jeans unbuttoned and off his hips.

"I don't think you want me to go into detail," Brylee said, smirking up at him, and he swallowed.

"I bet you thought about it," James said, grinning as he unclasped her bra and pulled it off.

"I did," she admitted. She had thought about it. But she didn't…you know, _touch _herself while doing it.

"And what did you think about me doing?" he said, his hands gripping her hips and his mouth moving down her neck to her chest. She let out a breathy moan, her neck still such a big weak spot.

"Everything," Brylee told him, jerking her hips up against his and pulling him toward her, and their lips met in a passionate and fiery embrace.

* * *

When Brylee woke up the next morning, James wasn't beside her, and she sighed, rolling over and burying her head in her pillow. Frankly, she was too tired to get out of bed, because James had really done some damage last night. He kept her up until around two thirty or three, not that she minded, because they were just becoming comfortable with each other again, and they didn't want the blissful moments to end.

She heard the front door close, and for a moment she thought it was James, but then she heard heavy footsteps on the tile floor, and her eyes widened, and she rolled over and sat up.

"Shit shit shit," she said, getting out of bed and grabbing her robe off the chair in the corner and pulling it on, wrapping it tightly around her.

Had it seriously been two weeks already?

Oh god, fuck her life. This shouldn't be happening, not today, not ever. Jake hadn't been on her mind since the moment he left, and he sure as hell hadn't been on her mind last night, not with the way James was kissing her, and the way his hands were soft and gentle on her skin, and the way he moaned her name, sounding like gold in her ears.

She quickly made the bed, thanking god she knew the proper way to pull the sheets and have perfect corners, then she went over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of underwear, some sweatpants and a t-shirt. She hastily put them on, then ran her fingers through her hair as she walked down the stairs.

She found Jake in the kitchen, going through the papers on the counter, which were Brylee's things from school that she needed to grade over the next week.

"There you are," Jake said, and for a moment, Brylee thought he was going to start screaming at her, because that's what he usually did. "Did you miss me?"

The brunette smiled sheepishly, and fakely, for that matter, and nodded. "Sure did," she said. There was something off about this, but he was probably just having one of those days where he tried to be super nice and sweet to her.

Tomorrow would probably be hell then.

"What were you still doing in bed?" he asked her, coming closer to her as she stood by the counter. "It's almost ten."

"I couldn't sleep," Brylee easily lied, and then the man kissed her cheek, and she grimaced. She just thanked god it wasn't on her lips.

Jake nodded, and went into the living room, like he was looking for something, or someone. "What have you done while I was gone?" Now the real Jake was starting to show, the stubborn, over protective and demanding man he really was.

"Went to work, graded papers, visited the hospital."

"What's that?" he asked her, pointing to the bowl sitting on the counter. It had a bunch of different desserts in it, which James had in his car last night, but forgot to bring them in with him. He must've brought it in before he left. Brylee walked over to the other side of the counter, noticing something was stuck to the lid, and she glanced over at Jake, panicked, then took the lid off and pulled out a cookie.

"One of my friends I work with gave them to me for Christmas," Brylee said. "Here, try one." He gladly accepted, taking a bite out of it as he turned toward the front hall.

Brylee pulled the sticky note off the front of the lid, smiling when she realized James had left it this morning. _I clearly forgot about these last night. My mom wanted me to pick up some things for her, so I'm sorry about leaving before you were up. Thanks for everything last night. Call me later. _

She smiled despite herself, but it faded from her lips when she heard Jake say, as he walked up the stairs, "If I find anything that's not mine, you're dead."

And she wished he was kidding.


	21. Leave This Town

James got back to his parent's house around noon, and he had a few things she had wanted him to pick up. "Mom, I'm home!" he called, shutting the door behind him and slipping his shoes off before heading down the hall to the kitchen. He set the bags down on the counter and then pulled his jacket off.

"Thank you so much, sweetheart!" Ruth said as she came into the kitchen, patting her sons' shoulder. James nodded, and for a moment, he thought she was going to ask him about where he had been last night.

But then again, she trusted him with anything, and didn't like to snoop in his business. So, she usually just let him tell her things if he needed to get something out there. "Anything for you, Mom," he said, smiling over at her.

"Did Brylee get home okay last night?" Ruth asked now, taking her things James had gotten out of the bags and putting them in their proper places, in cabinets or in the refrigerator.

"Yeah," James said, fishing his phone out of his pocket.

"I've really missed her," his mother admitted. "She's just as sweet as she was years ago. And she's absolutely gorgeous."

The brown-haired man looked over at her, and bit his lip. She hadn't changed. If anything, she'd just gotten even more amazing than the eight years ago. She was more perfect, but James didn't even think that was possible.

"I've missed her too," James said softly, and his mom smiled at him sadly, then placed a kiss on his cheek and said she'd be upstairs if he needed her. He looked down at his phone to see a text from Brylee, and he smiled, but it quickly faded when he read it.

_Please call me when you get the chance?_

Shit, he thought. Something wasn't right. He knew it.

Brylee sat in the office that was rarely used, that was in the back of the house at the end of the hall that connected to the kitchen. She was terrified, to be honest. She didn't want to be here. Before, she could stand having to be around Jake for a week. Now, though, an hour wigged her out.

She wanted James. She wanted his arms around her, and his voice soothing her for hours at a time. Her phone suddenly vibrated, and she grabbed it, and saw that James was calling.

"Hello?" she said, and her voice was shaking.

"Bry, hey, what's up?" James asked softly, concerned, as he slid open the door and stepped outside, not wanting anyone else to hear this conversation.

"Jake's back," she choked up, getting emotional and tearing up, for reasons she didn't know. If she could control it, this wouldn't be happening. Before James could respond, she continued. "And I'm fucking scared, James. I just have this feeling and I don't want to be here anymore."

She drew in a breath, one tear from full out sobbing, and her entire body was shaking. The anxiety was taking a toll on her.

James knew what he had to do. He had to get her out of there. Would his mom be angry if he left for a few days? He didn't think so, seeing as though his dad was better and considering the circumstances, she would most likely encourage it.

"Do you think he plans on going anywhere?"

Brylee thought for a moment, thinking that he might go to the office, but he hadn't mentioned anything as of yet. "I don't know," she sighed, running a hand through her dirty hair. God, she needed a shower, too. "Why?"

"Because you're leaving," James told her seriously, and her stomach lurched. "You're not staying somewhere harmful for one more day."

"James, no," Brylee protested. That was the _last _thing she could do. "He would get so mad, James. And he'd come and find me and he'd-he'd just-"

"Listen to me, Brylee." James was serious, level-headed, and he knew what he was doing. "You're leaving and we're going back to California, and you're staying there and you're not coming back here until that bastard is in jail. Do you understand that?"

She nodded to herself, wiping her eyes, and then a small, "yes," spilled out of her mouth.

"If Jake leaves, text me as soon as he's gone, and get some things together, not a lot, okay? Enough to get you through a couple of days, and then you can get some new stuff once we're out in California. I'll come pick you up, and we'll be on the next flight out of here, and I'll have my mom call the police, and have them call us to talk about this, alright?"

"James," Brylee said now, her voice still shaking.

"Yes?" he asked softly, and he could hear his heart pounding in the cold of the day, and he could see his breath.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. I love you."

The brunette sighed easily now, those three little words making her feel insanely better. "I love you too."

"If you need _anything_, let me know. I'll have my phone around all day," James said.

"Okay," she said, gaining a bit of composure back as she stood up. "I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, babe. Bye."

"Bye," Brylee said, then clicked end and opened the door, heading upstairs to go take a shower.

It was four hours later, when Brylee was showered and dressed warmly, down in the kitchen occupying herself with cooking something for dinner later when Jake appeared, and he was angry as hell.

Did Brylee think he was fucking stupid? He could tell by the way she acted something was going on, and that she wasn't just grading papers and visiting the hospital. And he knew something was going on because the bed didn't smell the same. When he went to go take a nap, he smelled something musky and deep, that didn't smell bad, but it wasn't what Brylee's skin smelt like.

She stood by the sink, vegetables sitting in it, slightly damp, and she was looking through a recipe book, her slim finger sliding down the page. "What the fuck is wrong with you," Jake growled, grabbing her arm forcefully.

Brylee's body went cold, and she stiffened. What did he know? Or was this another one of his bi-polar rages? "What?" she asked, not even turning to look at him, instead focusing of the white of the cabinet in front of her.

"Who the fuck has been here?"

"Nobody," she said easily, trying not to stammer, but her voice caught the slightest bit.

"Don't lie to me, god dammit!" Jake screamed, his hand tightening around her arm as he pulled her to face him. "You've been sleeping with somebody else. Who was it."

"You're confused," Brylee said, looking past him because the look in his eyes scared the shit out of her. "No one's been here."

Jake's grip on her arm got harder, and Brylee could feel her skin pinching, and she bit the inside of her lip to keep from crying. "You've got an hour to get your story straight. And when I find out who's been here, you're both dead."

Brylee didn't nod or say anything, and then Jake shook her, his other hand on her left arm, just as tight as the first one. "Do you understand me?" She nodded quickly, and he loosened his grip on her, and then suddenly, a hand slapped across her cheek. It happened so fast she didn't even see it coming, and didn't realize anything had happened until she felt the sting a moment later. "I said do you understand me?"

"Yes," she choked out, closing her eyes, and then he let go of her, pushing her away, and she caught her fragile self on the counter before she fell, and then she was in tears again. It was the first time Jake had physically hurt her.

And she had enough of this, and of him. An unstable hand grabbed her phone off the island, and through watery eyes, she found James' name and hit send, hiccupping as she waited for him to pick up.

It rang once, then twice, and she began to worry. "James," she pleaded softly. "Please pick up."

Then it rang a third time. "Please, please, please."

It was just about to go to voicemail, and Brylee had almost lost all hope, until she heard a click, and then a winded James. "Hello?"

"Please come get me."


End file.
